continental drift 11/2/22: halloween around the world
This is Continental Drift’s Halloween special! I wanted to take this opportunity to explore the origins and traditions of Halloween around the world. You can listen to the playlist here, and listen back to the episode here.
Halloween, celebrated October 31st every year, began as a christian tradition in the tridium of “Allhallowtide.” This was a time “to remember the dead,” and included All Hallow’s Eve, All Saint’s Day, and All Soul’s Day. “Hallow” is a synonym for saint, so Halloween referred to the eve of all saint’s day. Altogether, Allhallowtide was a time for remembering those who had died, honoring family, friends, and saints alike. In the middle ages, it was believed that all hallow’s eve was the night where the veil between the material world and the afterlife was most transparent.
One of the most recognizable traditions of Halloween is trick or treating, which originated from “souling,” an Allhallowtide tradition in which groups of people would go around local farms and cottages and sing a request for “apples, ale, and soul cakes.” Souling is the origin not only for trick or treating but traditions such as pumpkin carving and wearing costumes. People would put candles in hollowed out turnips to represent a soul lost in purgatory. People, children especially, would go out souling in disguises or costumes. In 1891, Rev. M. P. Holme of Tattenhall, Cheshire recorded a version of a souling song from a young girl at a local school. The tune and lyrics were transcribed by Lucy Broadwood.
English folk group the Watersons recorded a version of the song in 1965, and Peter, Paul, and Mary have also recorded with these lyrics, though the tune is quite different.
Souling sample:
The Watersons – Souling Song (1965)(1:35)
In Scotland, the tradition of Mari Lwyd centers around a horse’s head mounted on a pole, called the Mari Lawd. Groups would go around carrying the Mari Lwyd door to door and request entry through song. Households would deny requests, also in song, until they ran out of ideas, at which point they would let the group into the house and provide them food and drink.
This Mari Lwyd song by Carreg Lafar is sung in Scottish, though lyrics translate to:
Here we come
Harmless friends
To ask for/fetch an envoy
To sing
Six lovable men
The best on earth
To sing in true words
For beer
Sing your best
And then so will I
And those who are the best
Get (given) beer
Mari Lwyd sample:
Mari Lwyd // Carreg Lafar
Halloween is most popular in the US and Canada, where it is celebrated with trick or treating, costumes, candy, pumpkins, etc. It is also celebrated with an annual screening of It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, a Peanuts special released in 1966 with music from jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. This was the third peanuts special, and this one is credited with “establishing the peanuts sound.”
Peanuts sample:
The Great Pumpkin Waltz // Vince Guaraldi
I was surprised to learn this year of new halloween traditions, including “mischief night,” which is the celebration of the night before Halloween in the US states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Michigan. This was established in Detroit in the 1930s-1940s, where it became known as “Devil’s Night.” Petty criminal behavior typically seen on this night turned turned more serious in 70s, when arson to abandoned houses and vandalism became common.
Detroit rap group D12’s, debut album is called Devil’s Night and features a song of the same name.
Devil’s Night sample:
Devil’s Night // D12
“The Mildly Annoying Person Who’s Wearing a Big Backpack and Playing a Smartphone Game on a Packed Train”
Japan’s Halloween traditions began in 1997 when Tokyo Disneyland had a Halloween celebration. Universal Studios joined in on the annual celebration in 2002, and these two theme parks popularized Halloween celebrations around the country. Now, Japan commonly celebrates through street parties, parades, and costume contests, including the “mundane halloween costume” contest, featuring costumes such as “person who’s too shy to shout out bingo,” “woman who came to the bbq with no intention of helping out,” “couple who got into an argument at disneyland and now it’s super awkward,” etc.
Japanese Halloween segment:
Vampiregirl // 9mm Parabellum Bullet
Spookid’s parade // Mameko
In the Philippines, Oct 31- Nov 2 is a time for remembering dead family and friends.There is a custom called Pangangaluluwâ, which is the Philippine version of souling. Groups will go out to sing in exchange for food and money, often singing carols about purgatory. In the past, during the night, various small items, such as clothing, plants, etc., would “mysteriously” disappear, only to be discovered the next morning in the yard or in the middle of the street. In older times, it was believed that the spirits of ancestors and loved ones visited Earth on this night, making their presence known by taking an item.
Pangangaluluwa segment:
Pangangaluluwa
“A soul is talking in front of the window
The bell is rung to wake up the homeowner
If we leave quickly, we might be closed by the door of the sky, heaven”
O MAPANTAY | Pangangaluluwa (01 of 04)
In Mexico, Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) celebration occurs November 1st and 2nd. This is a joyful celebration rather than a mourning of the dead. Traditions include honoring the dead with home altars called ofrendas with the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. Additionally, it is common to give gifts to living friends and also to write playful mock epitaphs dedicated to living friends, known as calaveras literarias.
Day of the Dead segment:
Cheni // La Bruja de Texacoco
La Muerte // Lola Beltran
Que Monstruos Son (monster mash) // Los Straightjackets
Dracula, the epistolary novel written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897, centers around vampire Count Dracula in Translyvania, Romania. The biggest Halloween party in Transylvania take place at Bran Castle, aka Dracula’s Castle from Transylvania. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a 1992 film adaptation directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder, features song “Love Remembered.”
Dracula sample:
“Love Remembered” // Dominik Hauser
Spain’s Halloween celebration is called Castanyada or Magosto. It involves a lot of eating: castanyes (roasted chestnuts), panellets (special almond balls covered in pine nuts), moniatos (roast or baked sweet potato), Ossos de Sant cake and preserved fruit. The castanyes are especially important, as they come from a tradition where people would pray for a recently deceased person while roasting chesnuts, in communion with their souls. In christian tradition, bell ringers rang bells all throughout the night on All Saint’s Day to commemorate the dead. Everyone would prepare and eat the food to stay awake and keep going.
Magosto sample:
Magosto // Oima