If you happen to have a moment of self - reflection during the annual autumnal custom of enclothe up ina hot dog costumeand follow dangerously secretive to drinking dry meth ( Halloween … I ’m talking about Halloween ) , you might inquire yourself : Whydowe send our nation ’s young door - to - door in hunting of eminent - fructose Indian corn syrup in its hardened form ?
Good question . GREAT QUESTION .
The answer is complicated , antiquated , and involves the Irish . Kind of like the plot ofGangs of New York .
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Blame the Irish! (And the Scottish, too.)
Like the puzzling tradition of hoisting up a big pine Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree for the parentage of baby Jesus , Americanized Halloween does staunch from a pagan tradition – specificallySamhain . The Gaelic holiday lionise the last of the harvest time of year and the beginning of winter , or the " gloomy part " of the year . It ’s also a fete of the dead . Spooky !
While many Gaelic scholars are quick to point out that Halloween is a separate holiday ( and they aren’twrongthere ) , many of the tradition from the festival – and other pagan solemnization marking the starting time of wintertime , and the dead – have made their way into our Allhallows Eve . During festivals likeSamhain(also lionize by the Scots , so they ’re to blame , too ) folks would fit out up like deadened people and demand to be placate with offerings of cake .
Sounds like my Friday night .
Then the Catholics came and lamed it up
In the eighth century – when actor could still be players – the Catholic influence diffuse and demanded all pagan celebrationsbe stamped out and replacedwith drill new tradition ( I proceed to Catholic school , all their traditions are highly boring ) , including switch in All Saints Day , Allhallows Eve , and All Soul ’s Day – three religiously tinged , very halt vacation – in berth of remainder - of - harvest / dead people celebrations .
But after a few centuries and much unrest , honest-to-goodness custom commingle with the new , and much of the sometime customs from Samhain find oneself their room into Allhallows Eve .
It wasn’t always candy
Instead of drop egg at your face , or just showing up at your doorsill demanding detached lettuce , kids used to have to sing to win a prize . They sang song on behalf of the deadened , and were look up to as " soulers . " And people impart themsoul cakes– round lil ' cake with crossbreeding on the top that , when devoured , symbolize a soul escaping from purgatory into heaven . That ’s a turd ton of pressure for a little kid dressed like a dead swell .
For your amusement , here are the lyric poem toone of the strain kiddies would sing :
A soul ! A individual ! A person cake!Please good missus , a soul cake!An orchard apple tree , a pear , a plum tree , or a cerise , Any ripe matter to make us all merry . One for Peter , two for Paul , three for Him who made us all .
galaxyguy111/Youtube
Also , here ’s a television of singer and yoga partizan flimflam do the song .
And now, on to modern times
Singing these dumb songs ( no offence , Sting ) morph into " guising , " which was basically just kids going around in costumes , telling joke , blab little ditty , and busking for money .
As these customs spread to the States via wave of immigrant , it all come to a haltwhen the Great Depression , followed by World War II , pretty much charter the sport out of everything . But as the baby boomers make trick - or - treating years , the phenomenon resurfaced . And since literally no one wants individual cakes ( again , sorry Sting ) , the great unwashed - produced candy in sensible " fun " size of it hold their place .
So ! This October 31 , when a gaggle of lil ' bastards come knocking at your threshold , demand a cattle farm of Butterfingers and Sour Patch Things , tell them , " I ONLY HAVE soulfulness CAKES AND I DEMAND YOU tattle FOR THEM ! "
Or do n’t , if you hate being list on region watch database . Your call .
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