Halloween in Norway
Last night was, as everybody knows, Halloween. Also here in Norway, where we strictly don't have any connection at all to the tradition, other than all the stores pushing it in our faces and practically forcing us to take part in it. The kids see it as nothing more than a chance to beg for candy on a weekday. And if you ask them the origin of the tradition, they won't have a clue. They might tell you it comes from America, and that's it. So, therefore, I see it as my "duty" to enlighten all the little kiddies (and their parents, for that matter), on the origin of the American form of Halloween we all have come to know.
Now, read and learn, people! ;)
The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe'en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", also which is known as All Saints' Day. Some modern Halloween traditions developed out of older pagan traditions, especially surrounding the Irish holiday Samhain, a day associated with both the harvest and otherwordly spirits.
The pagan tradition called Samhain (the word for November in the Gaelic languages), is a festival that marks the end of the summer, and the end of the harvesting season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year". Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.
The Samhain celebrations have survived in several guises as a festival dedicated to the harvest and the dead. In Ireland and Scotland, the Féile na Marbh, the 'festival of the dead' took place on Samhain.
The night of Samhain, in Irish, Oíche Shamhna and Scots Gaelic, Oidhche Shamhna, is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, and falls on the 31st of October. It represents the final harvest. In modern Ireland and Scotland, the name by which Halloween is known in the Gaelic language is still Oíche/Oidhche Shamhna. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast, and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night.
Traditionally, Samhain was time to take stock of the herds and grain supplies, and decide which animals would need to be slaughtered in order for the people and livestock to survive the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock.
Bonfires played a large part in the festivities celebrated down through the last several centuries, and up through the present day in some rural areas of the Celtic nations. Villagers were said to have cast the bones of the slaughtered cattle upon the flames. In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the primary unit of currency and the center of agricultural and pastoral life. Samhain was the traditional time for slaughter, for preparing stores of meat and grain to last through the coming winter. The word 'bonfire', or 'bonefire' is a direct translation of the Gaelic tine cnámh. With the bonfire ablaze, the villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well.
The tradition came to America with Irish and Scottish immigrants in the nineteenth century, in various forms.
Anywhooo... that Halloween is celebrated in Norway, without having any real attachment to the tradition, I find to be somewhat wrong. Sure, it's fun for the kids to play dress-up and go around asking for candy. But... as long as you don't have Irish/Scottish/American/etc. heritage (and therefore "belong" to the tradition), I feel it should not be a regular feature of the average Norwegian's year. When I'm older and have children, it will be a much more 'valid' tradition for us than for the normal Norwegian family, seeing as I am married to an American, and our children then will be part American.
So I say, let those who belong to the tradition, and who have grown up with it, celebrate it. Us 'regular' Norwegians have gone centuries without celebrating this specific tradition. Why can't we just leave it like that?
Now, read and learn, people! ;)
The term Halloween (and its alternative rendering Hallowe'en) is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", also which is known as All Saints' Day. Some modern Halloween traditions developed out of older pagan traditions, especially surrounding the Irish holiday Samhain, a day associated with both the harvest and otherwordly spirits.
The pagan tradition called Samhain (the word for November in the Gaelic languages), is a festival that marks the end of the summer, and the end of the harvesting season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year". Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.
The Samhain celebrations have survived in several guises as a festival dedicated to the harvest and the dead. In Ireland and Scotland, the Féile na Marbh, the 'festival of the dead' took place on Samhain.
The night of Samhain, in Irish, Oíche Shamhna and Scots Gaelic, Oidhche Shamhna, is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, and falls on the 31st of October. It represents the final harvest. In modern Ireland and Scotland, the name by which Halloween is known in the Gaelic language is still Oíche/Oidhche Shamhna. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast, and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night.
Traditionally, Samhain was time to take stock of the herds and grain supplies, and decide which animals would need to be slaughtered in order for the people and livestock to survive the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock.
Bonfires played a large part in the festivities celebrated down through the last several centuries, and up through the present day in some rural areas of the Celtic nations. Villagers were said to have cast the bones of the slaughtered cattle upon the flames. In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the primary unit of currency and the center of agricultural and pastoral life. Samhain was the traditional time for slaughter, for preparing stores of meat and grain to last through the coming winter. The word 'bonfire', or 'bonefire' is a direct translation of the Gaelic tine cnámh. With the bonfire ablaze, the villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well.
The tradition came to America with Irish and Scottish immigrants in the nineteenth century, in various forms.
Anywhooo... that Halloween is celebrated in Norway, without having any real attachment to the tradition, I find to be somewhat wrong. Sure, it's fun for the kids to play dress-up and go around asking for candy. But... as long as you don't have Irish/Scottish/American/etc. heritage (and therefore "belong" to the tradition), I feel it should not be a regular feature of the average Norwegian's year. When I'm older and have children, it will be a much more 'valid' tradition for us than for the normal Norwegian family, seeing as I am married to an American, and our children then will be part American.
So I say, let those who belong to the tradition, and who have grown up with it, celebrate it. Us 'regular' Norwegians have gone centuries without celebrating this specific tradition. Why can't we just leave it like that?
posted by Lady Lovelylocks at 8:46 AM
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