Question of the week 38: Halloween

Hi everybody and welcome to another question of the week! This week the word Halloween will be covered in the following question:

What is the story behind Halloween? How did it spread?

Halloween is an event that is held yearly on the 31^st of October. Trick or treating is one big activity done that day where kids usually ask neighbors whether they would like to give a treat (candy) or be tricked into something scary. It is also a day for people to wear scary costumes, decorate their house with pumpkins carved with a scary face, and behave in strange ways to scare others.

There are a number of stories that tell the beginnings of Halloween. One of these stories goes as follows:

People have been making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the Jack O'Lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o'-lanterns.

From: History.com © 1996-2011, A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Initially Halloween originated in Ireland and Scotland as folklore. This had spread to the United States when Irish and Scottish immigrants migrated, bringing along their traditions. Over time it gained more popularity within the United States and Britain. This continued during the globalization of the world, especially in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, which then brought it to almost all countries around the world. Now, even if a country does not celebrate Halloween, due to people being able to travel around, they bring this old tradition along, educating the new country of this event.

In short: Halloween is an event that happens annually on the 31^st of October. It started as an Irish and Scottish folklore, migrating to the United States, and then spreading across the world over time due to globalization.

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