More than a hundred children and some weird and wonderful parents gathered at the Leisure Isle Coffee Shop.
Here they received a map and the addresses of Halloween-friendly homes on Leisure Isle. Watching the excitement of kids and adults with their empty sweetie bags in hand, colourfully dressed-up and ready for the chase was an experience in itself. Dressed up as vampires, mummies, skeletons and witches, young and old raced from house to house to fill up their bags and fun tanks. Happy, flushed faces were everywhere to be seen. Some Leisure Isle residents were prepared with word games and funny tricks. To add a little magic some residents lowered buckets to small crowds gathering and all the anticipation paid off. Some residents decorated their homes or lit welcoming candles or fire torches.
Since much of the history of Halloween wasn't written down for centuries; some of it is still sketchy and subject to debate. But the most plausible theory is that Halloween originated in the British Isles out of the Pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain. It goes back as far as 5BC. It was believed that spirits rose from the dead and mingled with the living on this day. The Celts left food at their doors to encourage good spirits and wore masks to scare off the bad ones. Some historians believe that the Romans who invaded England added a few of their own traditions to the celebration of Samhain, such as celebrating the end of the harvest and honouring the dead. Others say that since the Romans never conquered the Celts (Ireland and Scotland) there was no mingling of cultures, and that the Celts celebrated the end of the harvest and honoured their dead in this way, anyway!
Many centuries later, the Roman Catholic church, in an attempt to do away with Pagan holidays, such as Halloween (and the Roman Pagan holiday of Saturnalia, which eventually became Christmas) established November 1 as All Saints' Day (in French, la Toussaint), in celebration of all the saints who do not have their own holy day. This attempt to detract attention from the Pagan celebration of Samhain didn't work. The celebrations on the eve of All Saints' Day continued to grow and change! During the massive Irish immigration into America in the 1840s, Halloween found its way to the United States, where it continued to flourish.
The modern name, Halloween comes from 'All Hallows' Evening' or 'All Hallows' Even', the eve of All Hallows' Day, 'hallow' being an an Old English word for 'holy person'. Thus All Hallows' Day is just another name for All Saints' Day. Eventually, it became abbreviated to 'Hallowe'en' and then 'Halloween'.
Today, Halloween is once again being celebrated as a holiday or masquerade, like Mardi Gras. Men, women and children in every disguise imaginable are now participating in parades. Many parents decorate their homes and yards, dress in costume, hand out candy at their door or go with their children as they collect candy.
Despite or because of its origins, Leisure Isle’s Halloween celebration had everything to do with good clean fun!
Source:
Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Samhain and the Celtic Origins of Halloween - Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (p 11–21). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516896-8
Click here for photo gallery.
Trick or Treat at Leisure Isle has become synonymous with Halloween in Knysna and this year on Friday, October 31, family fun, supported by a community with a sense of humour and an open hand, made for an experience to remember.
ARTICLE: INGRID ERLANK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD EDITOR
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