A young old custom: Halloween is a much-discussed festival. The custom only came back to Europe from the USA in the 1990s. Now children in Austria go from house to house to snatch sweets with the saying “trick or treat”. The older ones dress up and celebrate at parties. Others would prefer to turn off the doorbell and spend an undisturbed evening without creepy ghosts and witches.
Again and again there are incidents on Halloween – this year there were even several riots: In Linz, for example, young people fought a street battle with the police, and in Salzburg a group of young people set off homemade firecrackers.
Celtic origin
Halloween has its origins in the Samhain festival of the Celts in Ireland. The last day of October was celebrated as the end of summer, November 1st marked the beginning of the new year and with it the winter. The Celts believed that on the night of the New Year the spirits of the dead would return from the realm of the dead. The spirits were supposed to be calmed by small gifts or frightened by creepy costumes.
In the 9th century the Pope Christianized Samhain – All Saints’ Day was moved to the beginning of November and the pagan festival became “All Hallows Eve”, i.e. the evening before All Saints’ Day. The word “Halloween” is derived from this designation.
Creepy custom established in Europe
Irish emigrants eventually brought the custom to the United States and expanded it in the 19th century. From there, Halloween made it back across the ocean to Europe in the 1990s. In this way, the role of the spirits has also been taken on by children in this country today. Disguised as ghosts, witches, skeletons and other creepy creatures, they wander the streets on the evening of October 31st every year and ask for sweets.
Eerily decorated houses are just as much a part of this time of year as spooky wrapped sweets on the supermarket shelves. The customs also have an impact on trade: this year, for example, sales of 55 million euros were expected – for sweets, pumpkins, decorative items and costumes.
Source: Nachrichten
