"Halloween
or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween,[5] All Hallows'
Eve,[6] or All Saints' Eve)[7] is a celebration observed in many
countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All
Saints' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide,[8] the time in
the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints
(hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.[9][10][11][12]
One
theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celtic
harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which are
believed to have pagan roots.[13][14][15][16] Some go further and
suggest that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow's Day,
along with its eve, by the early Church.[17] Other academics believe
Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All
Hallow's Day.[18][19][20][21] Celebrated in Ireland and Scotland for
centuries, Irish and Scottish immigrants took many Halloween customs to
North America in the 19th century,[22][23] and then through American
influence Halloween had spread to other countries by the late 20th and
early 21st century.[24][25]
Popular Halloween activities include
trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending
Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins or turnips into
jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games,
playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, and
watching horror or Halloween-themed films.[26] Some people practice the
Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including
attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the
dead,[27][28][29] although it is a secular celebration for
others.[30][31][32] Some Christians historically abstained from meat on
All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain
vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes,
and soul cakes.[33][34][35][36]
Etymology
"Halloween" (1785) by Scottish poet Robert Burns, recounts various legends of the holiday.
The
word Halloween or Hallowe'en ("Saints' evening"[37]) is of Christian
origin;[38][39] a term equivalent to "All Hallows Eve" is attested in
Old English.[40] The word hallowe[']en comes from the Scottish form of
All Hallows' Eve (the evening before All Hallows' Day):[41] even is the
Scots term for "eve" or "evening",[42] and is contracted to e'en or
een;[43] (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en became Hallowe'en.
History
Christian origins and historic customs
Halloween
is thought to have influences from Christian beliefs and
practices.[44][45] The English word 'Halloween' comes from "All Hallows'
Eve", being the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows'
Day (All Saints' Day) on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2
November.[46] Since the time of the early Church,[47] major feasts in
Christianity (such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost) had vigils that
began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows'.[48][44] These
three days are collectively called Allhallowtide and are a time when
Western Christians honour all saints and pray for recently departed
souls who have yet to reach Heaven. Commemorations of all saints and
martyrs were held by several churches on various dates, mostly in
springtime.[49] In 4th-century Roman Edessa it was held on 13 May, and
on 13 May 609, Pope Boniface IV re-dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to "St
Mary and all martyrs".[50] This was the date of Lemuria, an ancient
Roman festival of the dead.[51]
In the 8th century, Pope Gregory
III (731–741) founded an oratory in St Peter's for the relics "of the
holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors".[44][52] Some
sources say it was dedicated on 1 November,[53] while others say it was
on Palm Sunday in April 732.[54][55] By 800, there is evidence that
churches in Ireland[56] and Northumbria were holding a feast
commemorating all saints on 1 November.[57] Alcuin of Northumbria, a
member of Charlemagne's court, may then have introduced this 1 November
date in the Frankish Empire.[58] In 835, it became the official date in
the Frankish Empire.[57] Some suggest this was due to Celtic influence,
while others suggest it was a Germanic idea,[57] although it is claimed
that both Germanic and Celtic-speaking peoples commemorated the dead at
the beginning of winter.[59] They may have seen it as the most fitting
time to do so, as it is a time of 'dying' in nature.[57][59] It is also
suggested the change was made on the "practical grounds that Rome in
summer could not accommodate the great number of pilgrims who flocked to
it", and perhaps because of public health concerns over Roman Fever,
which claimed a number of lives during Rome's sultry summers.[60][44]
On
All Hallows' Eve, Christians in some parts of the world visit
cemeteries to pray and place flowers and candles on the graves of their
loved ones.[61] Top: Christians in Bangladesh lighting candles on the
headstone of a relative. Bottom: Lutheran Christians praying and
lighting candles in front of the central crucifix of a graveyard.
By
the end of the 12th century, the celebration had become known as the
holy days of obligation in Western Christianity and involved such
traditions as ringing church bells for souls in purgatory. It was also
"customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a
bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember
the poor souls".[62] The Allhallowtide custom of baking and sharing soul
cakes for all christened souls,[63] has been suggested as the origin of
trick-or-treating.[64] The custom dates back at least as far as the
15th century[65] and was found in parts of England, Wales, Flanders,
Bavaria and Austria.[66] Groups of poor people, often children, would go
door-to-door during Allhallowtide, collecting soul cakes, in exchange
for praying for the dead, especially the souls of the givers' friends
and relatives. This was called "souling".[65][67][68] Soul cakes were
also offered for the souls themselves to eat,[66] or the 'soulers' would
act as their representatives.[69] As with the Lenten tradition of hot
cross buns, soul cakes were often marked with a cross, indicating they
were baked as alms.[70] Shakespeare mentions souling in his comedy The
Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593).[71] While souling, Christians would
carry "lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips", which could have
originally represented souls of the dead;[72][73] jack-o'-lanterns were
used to ward off evil spirits.[74][75] On All Saints' and All Souls' Day
during the 19th century, candles were lit in homes in Ireland,[76]
Flanders, Bavaria, and in Tyrol, where they were called "soul
lights",[77] that served "to guide the souls back to visit their earthly
homes".[78] In many of these places, candles were also lit at graves on
All Souls' Day.[77] In Brittany, libations of milk were poured on the
graves of kinfolk,[66] or food would be left overnight on the dinner
table for the returning souls;[77] a custom also found in Tyrol and
parts of Italy.[79][77]
Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh
linked the wearing of costumes to the belief in vengeful ghosts: "It was
traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the
earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last
chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to
the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that
might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or
costumes".[80] In the Middle Ages, churches in Europe that were too poor
to display relics of martyred saints at Allhallowtide let parishioners
dress up as saints instead.[81][82] Some Christians observe this custom
at Halloween today.[83] Lesley Bannatyne believes this could have been a
Christianization of an earlier pagan custom.[84] Many Christians in
mainland Europe, especially in France, believed "that once a year, on
Hallowe'en, the dead of the churchyards rose for one wild, hideous
carnival" known as the danse macabre, which was often depicted in church
decoration.[85] Christopher Allmand and Rosamond McKitterick write in
The New Cambridge Medieval History that the danse macabre urged
Christians "not to forget the end of all earthly things".[86] The danse
macabre was sometimes enacted in European village pageants and court
masques, with people "dressing up as corpses from various strata of
society", and this may be the origin of Halloween costume
parties.[87][88][89][72]
In Britain, these customs came under
attack during the Reformation, as Protestants berated purgatory as a
"popish" doctrine incompatible with the Calvinist doctrine of
predestination. State-sanctioned ceremonies associated with the
intercession of saints and prayer for souls in purgatory were abolished
during the Elizabethan reform, though All Hallow's Day remained in the
English liturgical calendar to "commemorate saints as godly human
beings".[90] For some Nonconformist Protestants, the theology of All
Hallows' Eve was redefined; "souls cannot be journeying from Purgatory
on their way to Heaven, as Catholics frequently believe and assert.
Instead, the so-called ghosts are thought to be in actuality evil
spirits".[91] Other Protestants believed in an intermediate state known
as Hades (Bosom of Abraham).[92] In some localities, Catholics and
Protestants continued souling, candlelit processions, or ringing church
bells for the dead;[46][93] the Anglican church eventually suppressed
this bell-ringing.[94] Mark Donnelly, a professor of medieval
archaeology, and historian Daniel Diehl write that "barns and homes were
blessed to protect people and livestock from the effect of witches, who
were believed to accompany the malignant spirits as they traveled the
earth".[95] After 1605, Hallowtide was eclipsed in England by Guy Fawkes
Night (5 November), which appropriated some of its customs.[96] In
England, the ending of official ceremonies related to the intercession
of saints led to the development of new, unofficial Hallowtide customs.
In 18th–19th century rural Lancashire, Catholic families gathered on
hills on the night of All Hallows' Eve. One held a bunch of burning
straw on a pitchfork while the rest knelt around him, praying for the
souls of relatives and friends until the flames went out. This was known
as teen'lay.[97] There was a similar custom in Hertfordshire, and the
lighting of 'tindle' fires in Derbyshire.[98] Some suggested these
'tindles' were originally lit to "guide the poor souls back to
earth".[99] In Scotland and Ireland, old Allhallowtide customs that were
at odds with Reformed teaching were not suppressed as they "were
important to the life cycle and rites of passage of local communities"
and curbing them would have been difficult.[22]
In parts of Italy
until the 15th century, families left a meal out for the ghosts of
relatives, before leaving for church services.[79] In 19th-century
Italy, churches staged "theatrical re-enactments of scenes from the
lives of the saints" on All Hallow's Day, with "participants represented
by realistic wax figures".[79] In 1823, the graveyard of Holy Spirit
Hospital in Rome presented a scene in which bodies of those who recently
died were arrayed around a wax statue of an angel who pointed upward
towards heaven.[79] In the same country, "parish priests went
house-to-house, asking for small gifts of food which they shared among
themselves throughout that night".[79] In Spain, they continue to bake
special pastries called "bones of the holy" (Spanish: Huesos de Santo)
and set them on graves.[100] At cemeteries in Spain and France, as well
as in Latin America, priests lead Christian processions and services
during Allhallowtide, after which people keep an all night vigil.[101]
In 19th-century San Sebastián, there was a procession to the city
cemetery at Allhallowtide, an event that drew beggars who "appeal[ed] to
the tender recollectons of one's deceased relations and friends" for
sympathy.[102]
Gaelic folk influence
An early 20th-century Irish Halloween mask displayed at the Museum of Country Life
Today's
Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs
and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which are
believed to have pagan roots.[103] Jack Santino, a folklorist, writes
that "there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between
customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated
with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived".[104] The
origins of Halloween customs are typically linked to the Gaelic festival
Samhain.[105]
Samhain is one of the quarter days in the medieval
Gaelic calendar and has been celebrated on 31 October – 1 November[106]
in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.[107][108] A kindred festival
has been held by the Brittonic Celts, called Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Kalan
Gwav in Cornwall and Kalan Goañv in Brittany; a name meaning "first day
of winter". For the Celts, the day ended and began at sunset; thus the
festival begins the evening before 1 November by modern reckoning.[109]
Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. The names
have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up
until the 19th century,[110] and are still the Gaelic and Welsh names
for Halloween.
Snap-Apple Night, painted by Daniel Maclise in 1833,
shows people feasting and playing divination games on Halloween in
Ireland.[111]
Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and
beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year.[112][113] It was
seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the
Otherworld thinned. This meant the Aos Sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies',
could more easily come into this world and were particularly
active.[114][115] Most scholars see them as "degraded versions of
ancient gods [...] whose power remained active in the people's minds
even after they had been officially replaced by later religious
beliefs".[116] They were both respected and feared, with individuals
often invoking the protection of God when approaching their
dwellings.[117][118] At Samhain, the Aos Sí were appeased to ensure the
people and livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink,
or portions of the crops, were left outside for them.[119][120][121] The
souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seeking
hospitality.[122] Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to
welcome them.[123] The belief that the souls of the dead return home on
one night of the year and must be appeased seems to have ancient
origins and is found in many cultures.[66] In 19th century Ireland,
"candles would be lit and prayers formally offered for the souls of the
dead. After this the eating, drinking, and games would begin".[124]
Throughout
Ireland and Britain, especially in the Celtic-speaking regions, the
household festivities included divination rituals and games intended to
foretell one's future, especially regarding death and marriage.[125]
Apples and nuts were often used, and customs included apple bobbing, nut
roasting, scrying or mirror-gazing, pouring molten lead or egg whites
into water, dream interpretation, and others.[126] Special bonfires were
lit and there were rituals involving them. Their flames, smoke, and
ashes were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers.[112] In some
places, torches lit from the bonfire were carried sunwise around homes
and fields to protect them.[110] It is suggested the fires were a kind
of imitative or sympathetic magic – they mimicked the Sun and held back
the decay and darkness of winter.[123][127][128] They were also used for
divination and to ward off evil spirits.[74] In Scotland, these
bonfires and divination games were banned by the church elders in some
parishes.[129] In Wales, bonfires were also lit to "prevent the souls of
the dead from falling to earth".[130] Later, these bonfires "kept away
the devil".[131]
photograph
A plaster cast of a traditional Irish Halloween turnip (rutabaga) lantern on display in the Museum of Country Life, Ireland[132]
From
at least the 16th century,[133] the festival included mumming and
guising in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Wales.[134] This
involved people going house-to-house in costume (or in disguise),
usually reciting verses or songs in exchange for food. It may have
originally been a tradition whereby people impersonated the Aos Sí, or
the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf, similar
to 'souling'. Impersonating these beings, or wearing a disguise, was
also believed to protect oneself from them.[135] In parts of southern
Ireland, the guisers included a hobby horse. A man dressed as a Láir
Bhán (white mare) led youths house-to-house reciting verses – some of
which had pagan overtones – in exchange for food. If the household
donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not
doing so would bring misfortune.[136] In Scotland, youths went
house-to-house with masked, painted or blackened faces, often
threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[134] F. Marian
McNeill suggests the ancient festival included people in costume
representing the spirits, and that faces were marked or blackened with
ashes from the sacred bonfire.[133] In parts of Wales, men went about
dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod.[134] In the late 19th and
early 20th century, young people in Glamorgan and Orkney
cross-dressed.[134]
Elsewhere in Europe, mumming was part of
other festivals, but in the Celtic-speaking regions, it was
"particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were
said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human
wanderers".[134] From at least the 18th century, "imitating malignant
spirits" led to playing pranks in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.
Wearing costumes and playing pranks at Halloween did not spread to
England until the 20th century.[134] Pranksters used hollowed-out
turnips or mangel wurzels as lanterns, often carved with grotesque
faces.[134] By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to
represent the spirits,[134] or used to ward off evil spirits.[137][138]
They were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the
19th century,[134] as well as in Somerset (see Punkie Night). In the
20th century they spread to other parts of Britain and became generally
known as jack-o'-lanterns.[134]
Spread to North America
The annual
New York Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, is the
world's largest Halloween parade, with millions of spectators annually,
and has its roots in New York’s queer community.[139]
Lesley
Bannatyne and Cindy Ott write that Anglican colonists in the southern
United States and Catholic colonists in Maryland "recognized All
Hallow's Eve in their church calendars",[140][141] although the Puritans
of New England strongly opposed the holiday, along with other
traditional celebrations of the established Church, including
Christmas.[142] Almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no
indication that Halloween was widely celebrated in North America.[22]
It
was not until after mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th
century that Halloween became a major holiday in America.[22] Most
American Halloween traditions were inherited from the Irish and
Scots,[23][143] though "In Cajun areas, a nocturnal Mass was said in
cemeteries on Halloween night. Candles that had been blessed were placed
on graves, and families sometimes spent the entire night at the
graveside".[144] Originally confined to these immigrant communities, it
was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and was celebrated
coast to coast by people of all social, racial, and religious
backgrounds by the early 20th century.[145] Then, through American
influence, these Halloween traditions spread to many other countries by
the late 20th and early 21st century, including to mainland Europe and
some parts of the Far East.[24][25][146]
Symbols
At Halloween,
yards, public spaces, and some houses may be decorated with
traditionally macabre symbols including skeletons, ghosts, cobwebs,
headstones, and scary looking witches.
Development of artifacts
and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. Jack-o'-lanterns
are traditionally carried by guisers on All Hallows' Eve in order to
frighten evil spirits.[73][147] There is a popular Irish Christian
folktale associated with the jack-o'-lantern,[148] which in folklore is
said to represent a "soul who has been denied entry into both heaven and
hell":[149]
On route home after a night's drinking, Jack
encounters the Devil and tricks him into climbing a tree. A
quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark, thus
trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan can never claim
his soul. After a life of sin, drink, and mendacity, Jack is refused
entry to heaven when he dies. Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to
let Jack into hell and throws a live coal straight from the fires of
hell at him. It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed
out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time Jack and his
lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.[150]
In
Ireland and Scotland, the turnip has traditionally been carved during
Halloween,[151][152] but immigrants to North America used the native
pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger, making it easier to
carve than a turnip.[151] The American tradition of carving pumpkins is
recorded in 1837[153] and was originally associated with harvest time in
general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the
mid-to-late 19th century.[154]
Decorated house in Weatherly, Pennsylvania
The
modern imagery of Halloween comes from many sources, including
Christian eschatology, national customs, works of Gothic and horror
literature (such as the novels Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
and Dracula) and classic horror films such as Frankenstein (1931) and
The Mummy (1932).[155][156] Imagery of the skull, a reference to
Golgotha in the Christian tradition, serves as "a reminder of death and
the transitory quality of human life" and is consequently found in
memento mori and vanitas compositions;[157] skulls have therefore been
commonplace in Halloween, which touches on this theme.[158]
Traditionally, the back walls of churches are "decorated with a
depiction of the Last Judgment, complete with graves opening and the
dead rising, with a heaven filled with angels and a hell filled with
devils", a motif that has permeated the observance of this triduum.[159]
One of the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish
poet John Mayne, who, in 1780, made note of pranks at Halloween; "What
fearfu' pranks ensue!", as well as the supernatural associated with the
night, "bogles" (ghosts),[160] influencing Robert Burns' "Halloween"
(1785).[161] Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn
husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated
with these types of symbols around Halloween. Halloween imagery includes
themes of death, evil, and mythical monsters.[162] Black cats, which
have been long associated with witches, are also a common symbol of
Halloween. Black, orange, and sometimes purple are Halloween's
traditional colors.[163]
Trick-or-treating and guising
Main article: Trick-or-treating
Trick-or-treaters in Sweden
Trick-or-treating
is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in
costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or
sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick"
implies a "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their
property if no treat is given.[64] The practice is said to have roots in
the medieval practice of mumming, which is closely related to
souling.[164] John Pymm wrote that "many of the feast days associated
with the presentation of mumming plays were celebrated by the Christian
Church."[165] These feast days included All Hallows' Eve, Christmas,
Twelfth Night and Shrove Tuesday.[166][167] Mumming practiced in
Germany, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe,[168] involved masked
persons in fancy dress who "paraded the streets and entered houses to
dance or play dice in silence".[169]
Girl in a Halloween costume in
1928, Ontario, Canada, the same province where the Scottish Halloween
custom of guising was first recorded in North America
In England,
from the medieval period,[170] up until the 1930s,[171] people
practiced the Christian custom of souling on Halloween, which involved
groups of soulers, both Protestant and Catholic,[93] going from parish
to parish, begging the rich for soul cakes, in exchange for praying for
the souls of the givers and their friends.[67] In the Philippines, the
practice of souling is called Pangangaluluwa and is practiced on All
Hallow's Eve among children in rural areas.[26] People drape themselves
in white cloths to represent souls and then visit houses, where they
sing in return for prayers and sweets.[26]
In Scotland and
Ireland, guising – children disguised in costume going from door to door
for food or coins – is a traditional Halloween custom.[172] It is
recorded in Scotland at Halloween in 1895 where masqueraders in disguise
carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be
rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money.[152][173] In Ireland, the most
popular phrase for kids to shout (until the 2000s) was "Help the
Halloween Party".[172] The practice of guising at Halloween in North
America was first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston,
Ontario, Canada, reported children going "guising" around the
neighborhood.[174]
American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley
of Massachusetts wrote the first book-length history of Halloween in
the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the
chapter "Hallowe'en in America".[175] In her book, Kelley touches on
customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered
them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have
been in its best days overseas. All Halloween customs in the United
States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other
countries".[176]
While the first reference to "guising" in North
America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween
appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in
1920.[177] The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat"
appears in 1927, in the Blackie Herald, of Alberta, Canada.[178]
An automobile trunk at a trunk-or-treat event at St. John Lutheran Church and Early Learning Center in Darien, Illinois
The
thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th
century and the 1920s commonly show children but not
trick-or-treating.[179] Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a
widespread practice in North America until the 1930s, with the first US
appearances of the term in 1934,[180] and the first use in a national
publication occurring in 1939.[181]
A popular variant of
trick-or-treating, known as trunk-or-treating (or Halloween tailgating),
occurs when "children are offered treats from the trunks of cars parked
in a church parking lot", or sometimes, a school parking lot.[100][182]
In a trunk-or-treat event, the trunk (boot) of each automobile is
decorated with a certain theme,[183] such as those of children's
literature, movies, scripture, and job roles.[184] Trunk-or-treating has
grown in popularity due to its perception as being more safe than going
door to door, a point that resonates well with parents, as well as the
fact that it "solves the rural conundrum in which homes [are] built a
half-mile apart".[185][186]
Costumes
Main article: Halloween costume
Halloween
costumes were traditionally modeled after figures such as vampires,
ghosts, skeletons, scary looking witches, and devils.[64] Over time, the
costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction,
celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses.
Halloween shop in Derry, Northern Ireland, selling masks
Dressing
up in costumes and going "guising" was prevalent in Scotland and
Ireland at Halloween by the late 19th century.[152] A Scottish term, the
tradition is called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn
by the children.[173] In Ireland and Scotland, the masks are known as
'false faces',[38][187] a term recorded in Ayr, Scotland in 1890 by a
Scot describing guisers: "I had mind it was Halloween . . . the wee
callans were at it already, rinning aboot wi’ their fause-faces (false
faces) on and their bits o’ turnip lanthrons (lanterns) in their haun
(hand)".[38] Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in the US in
the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children, and when
trick-or-treating was becoming popular in Canada and the US in the 1920s
and 1930s.[178][188]
Eddie J. Smith, in his book Halloween,
Hallowed is Thy Name, offers a religious perspective to the wearing of
costumes on All Hallows' Eve, suggesting that by dressing up as
creatures "who at one time caused us to fear and tremble", people are
able to poke fun at Satan "whose kingdom has been plundered by our
Saviour". Images of skeletons and the dead are traditional decorations
used as memento mori.[189][190]
"Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" is a
fundraising program to support UNICEF,[64] a United Nations Programme
that provides humanitarian aid to children in developing countries.
Started as a local event in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood in
1950 and expanded nationally in 1952, the program involves the
distribution of small boxes by schools (or in modern times, corporate
sponsors like Hallmark, at their licensed stores) to trick-or-treaters,
in which they can solicit small-change donations from the houses they
visit. It is estimated that children have collected more than $118
million for UNICEF since its inception. In Canada, in 2006, UNICEF
decided to discontinue their Halloween collection boxes, citing safety
and administrative concerns; after consultation with schools, they
instead redesigned the program.[191][192]
The yearly New York's
Village Halloween Parade was begun in 1974; it is the world's largest
Halloween parade and America's only major nighttime parade, attracting
more than 60,000 costumed participants, two million spectators, and a
worldwide television audience.[193]
Since the late 2010s, ethnic
stereotypes as costumes have increasingly come under scrutiny in the
United States.[194] Such and other potentially offensive costumes have
been met with increasing public disapproval.[195][196]
Pet costumes
According
to a 2018 report from the National Retail Federation, 30 million
Americans will spend an estimated $480 million on Halloween costumes for
their pets in 2018. This is up from an estimated $200 million in 2010.
The most popular costumes for pets are the pumpkin, followed by the hot
dog, and the bumblebee in third place.[197]
Games and other activities
In
this 1904 Halloween greeting card, divination is depicted: the young
woman looking into a mirror in a darkened room hopes to catch a glimpse
of her future husband.
There are several games traditionally
associated with Halloween. Some of these games originated as divination
rituals or ways of foretelling one's future, especially regarding death,
marriage and children. During the Middle Ages, these rituals were done
by a "rare few" in rural communities as they were considered to be
"deadly serious" practices.[198] In recent centuries, these divination
games have been "a common feature of the household festivities" in
Ireland and Britain.[125] They often involve apples and hazelnuts. In
Celtic mythology, apples were strongly associated with the Otherworld
and immortality, while hazelnuts were associated with divine
wisdom.[199] Some also suggest that they derive from Roman practices in
celebration of Pomona.[64]
Children bobbing for apples at Hallowe'en
The
following activities were a common feature of Halloween in Ireland and
Britain during the 17th–20th centuries. Some have become more widespread
and continue to be popular today. One common game is apple bobbing or
dunking (which may be called "dooking" in Scotland)[200] in which apples
float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use
only their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. A variant of dunking
involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and
trying to drive the fork into an apple. Another common game involves
hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be
eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an
activity that inevitably leads to a sticky face. Another once-popular
game involves hanging a small wooden rod from the ceiling at head
height, with a lit candle on one end and an apple hanging from the
other. The rod is spun round and everyone takes turns to try to catch
the apple with their teeth.[201]
Image from the Book of Hallowe'en (1919) showing several Halloween activities, such as nut roasting
Several
of the traditional activities from Ireland and Britain involve
foretelling one's future partner or spouse. An apple would be peeled in
one long strip, then the peel tossed over the shoulder. The peel is
believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's
name.[202][203] Two hazelnuts would be roasted near a fire; one named
for the person roasting them and the other for the person they desire.
If the nuts jump away from the heat, it is a bad sign, but if the nuts
roast quietly it foretells a good match.[204][205] A salty oatmeal
bannock would be baked; the person would eat it in three bites and then
go to bed in silence without anything to drink. This is said to result
in a dream in which their future spouse offers them a drink to quench
their thirst.[206] Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a
darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of
their future husband would appear in the mirror.[207] The custom was
widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards[208] from the
late 19th century and early 20th century.
Another popular Irish
game was known as púicíní ("blindfolds"); a person would be blindfolded
and then would choose between several saucers. The item in the saucer
would provide a hint as to their future: a ring would mean that they
would marry soon; clay, that they would die soon, perhaps within the
year; water, that they would emigrate; rosary beads, that they would
take Holy Orders (become a nun, priest, monk, etc.); a coin, that they
would become rich; a bean, that they would be poor.[209][210][211][212]
The game features prominently in the James Joyce short story "Clay"
(1914).[213][214][215]
In Ireland and Scotland, items would be
hidden in food – usually a cake, barmbrack, cranachan, champ or
colcannon – and portions of it served out at random. A person's future
would be foretold by the item they happened to find; for example, a ring
meant marriage and a coin meant wealth.[216]
Up until the 19th
century, the Halloween bonfires were also used for divination in parts
of Scotland, Wales and Brittany. When the fire died down, a ring of
stones would be laid in the ashes, one for each person. In the morning,
if any stone was mislaid it was said that the person it represented
would not live out the year.[110]
Telling ghost stories,
listening to Halloween-themed songs and watching horror films are common
fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and
Halloween-themed specials (with the specials usually aimed at children)
are commonly aired on or before Halloween, while new horror films are
often released before Halloween to take advantage of the holiday.
Haunted attractions
Main article: Haunted attraction (simulated)
Humorous tombstones in front of a house in California
Humorous display window in Historic 25th Street, Ogden, Utah
Haunted
attractions are entertainment venues designed to thrill and scare
patrons. Most attractions are seasonal Halloween businesses that may
include haunted houses, corn mazes, and hayrides,[217] and the level of
sophistication of the effects has risen as the industry has grown.
The
first recorded purpose-built haunted attraction was the Orton and
Spooner Ghost House, which opened in 1915 in Liphook, England. This
attraction actually most closely resembles a carnival fun house, powered
by steam.[218][219] The House still exists, in the Hollycombe Steam
Collection.
It was during the 1930s, about the same time as
trick-or-treating, that Halloween-themed haunted houses first began to
appear in America. It was in the late 1950s that haunted houses as a
major attraction began to appear, focusing first on California.
Sponsored by the Children's Health Home Junior Auxiliary, the San Mateo
Haunted House opened in 1957. The San Bernardino Assistance League
Haunted House opened in 1958. Home haunts began appearing across the
country during 1962 and 1963. In 1964, the San Manteo Haunted House
opened, as well as the Children's Museum Haunted House in
Indianapolis.[220]
The haunted house as an American cultural icon
can be attributed to the opening of The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland
on 12 August 1969.[221] Knott's Berry Farm began hosting its own
Halloween night attraction, Knott's Scary Farm, which opened in
1973.[222] Evangelical Christians adopted a form of these attractions by
opening one of the first "hell houses" in 1972.[223]
The first
Halloween haunted house run by a nonprofit organization was produced in
1970 by the Sycamore-Deer Park Jaycees in Clifton, Ohio. It was
cosponsored by WSAI, an AM radio station broadcasting out of Cincinnati,
Ohio. It was last produced in 1982.[224] Other Jaycees followed suit
with their own versions after the success of the Ohio house. The March
of Dimes copyrighted a "Mini haunted house for the March of Dimes" in
1976 and began fundraising through their local chapters by conducting
haunted houses soon after. Although they apparently quit supporting this
type of event nationally sometime in the 1980s, some March of Dimes
haunted houses have persisted until today.[225]
On the evening of
11 May 1984, in Jackson Township, New Jersey, the Haunted Castle (Six
Flags Great Adventure) caught fire. As a result of the fire, eight
teenagers perished.[226] The backlash to the tragedy was a tightening of
regulations relating to safety, building codes and the frequency of
inspections of attractions nationwide. The smaller venues, especially
the nonprofit attractions, were unable to compete financially, and the
better funded commercial enterprises filled the vacuum.[227][228]
Facilities that were once able to avoid regulation because they were
considered to be temporary installations now had to adhere to the
stricter codes required of permanent attractions.[229][230][231]
In
the late 1980s and early 1990s, theme parks entered the business
seriously. Six Flags Fright Fest began in 1986 and Universal Studios
Florida began Halloween Horror Nights in 1991. Knott's Scary Farm
experienced a surge in attendance in the 1990s as a result of America's
obsession with Halloween as a cultural event. Theme parks have played a
major role in globalizing the holiday. Universal Studios Singapore and
Universal Studios Japan both participate, while Disney now mounts
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party events at its parks in Paris, Hong
Kong and Tokyo, as well as in the United States.[232] The theme park
haunts are by far the largest, both in scale and attendance.[233]
Food
Pumpkins for sale during Halloween
On
All Hallows' Eve, many Western Christian denominations encourage
abstinence from meat, giving rise to a variety of vegetarian foods
associated with this day.[234]
A candy apple
Because in the
Northern Hemisphere Halloween comes in the wake of the yearly apple
harvest, candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America),
caramel apples or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by
rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by
rolling them in nuts.
At one time, candy apples were commonly
given to trick-or-treating children, but the practice rapidly waned in
the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items
like pins and razor blades in the apples in the United States.[235]
While there is evidence of such incidents,[236] relative to the degree
of reporting of such cases, actual cases involving malicious acts are
extremely rare and have never resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless,
many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant because of
the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered
free X-rays of children's Halloween hauls in order to find evidence of
tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning incidents
involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy.[237]
One
custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often
nowadays, the purchase) of a barmbrack (Irish: báirín breac), which is a
light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin, and other charms are
placed before baking.[238] It is considered fortunate to be the lucky
one who finds it.[238] It has also been said that those who get a ring
will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the
tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany.
A jack-o'-lantern Halloween cake with a witches hat
List of foods associated with Halloween:
Barmbrack (Ireland)
Bonfire toffee (Great Britain)
Candy apples/toffee apples (Great Britain and Ireland)
Candy apples, candy corn, candy pumpkins (North America)
Chocolate
Monkey nuts (peanuts in their shells) (Ireland and Scotland)
Caramel apples
Caramel corn
Colcannon (Ireland; see below)
Halloween cake
Sweets/candy
Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc.
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Roasted sweet corn
Soul cakes
Pumpkin Pie
Christian religious observances
The Vigil of All Hallows' is being celebrated at an Episcopal Christian church on Hallowe'en
On
Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve), in Poland, believers were once taught to
pray out loud as they walk through the forests in order that the souls
of the dead might find comfort; in Spain, Christian priests in tiny
villages toll their church bells in order to remind their congregants to
remember the dead on All Hallows' Eve.[239] In Ireland, and among
immigrants in Canada, a custom includes the Christian practice of
abstinence, keeping All Hallows' Eve as a meat-free day and serving
pancakes or colcannon instead.[240] In Mexico children make an altar to
invite the return of the spirits of dead children (angelitos).[241]
The
Christian Church traditionally observed Hallowe'en through a vigil.
Worshippers prepared themselves for feasting on the following All
Saints' Day with prayers and fasting.[242] This church service is known
as the Vigil of All Hallows or the Vigil of All Saints;[243][244] an
initiative known as Night of Light seeks to further spread the Vigil of
All Hallows throughout Christendom.[245][246] After the service,
"suitable festivities and entertainments" often follow, as well as a
visit to the graveyard or cemetery, where flowers and candles are often
placed in preparation for All Hallows' Day.[247][248] In Finland,
because so many people visit the cemeteries on All Hallows' Eve to light
votive candles there, they "are known as valomeri, or seas of
light".[249]
Halloween Scripture Candy with gospel tract
Today,
Christian attitudes towards Halloween are diverse. In the Anglican
Church, some dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions
associated with All Hallow's Eve.[250][251] Some of these practices
include praying, fasting and attending worship services.[1][2][3]
O LORD our God, increase, we pray thee, and multiply upon us the gifts
of thy grace: that we, who do prevent the glorious festival of all thy
Saints, may of thee be enabled joyfully to follow them in all virtuous
and godly living. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who liveth and
reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world
without end. Amen. —Collect of the Vigil of All Saints, The Anglican
Breviary[252]
Votive candles in the Halloween section of Walmart
Other
Protestant Christians also celebrate All Hallows' Eve as Reformation
Day, a day to remember the Protestant Reformation, alongside All
Hallow's Eve or independently from it.[253] This is because Martin
Luther is said to have nailed his Ninety-five Theses to All Saints'
Church in Wittenberg on All Hallows' Eve.[254] Often, "Harvest
Festivals" or "Reformation Festivals" are held on All Hallows' Eve, in
which children dress up as Bible characters or Reformers.[255] In
addition to distributing candy to children who are trick-or-treating on
Hallowe'en, many Christians also provide gospel tracts to them. One
organization, the American Tract Society, stated that around 3 million
gospel tracts are ordered from them alone for Hallowe'en
celebrations.[256] Others order Halloween-themed Scripture Candy to pass
out to children on this day.[257][258]
Belizean children dressed up as Biblical figures and Christian saints
Some
Christians feel concerned about the modern celebration of Halloween
because they feel it trivializes – or celebrates – paganism, the occult,
or other practices and cultural phenomena deemed incompatible with
their beliefs.[259] Father Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in Rome, has
said, "if English and American children like to dress up as witches and
devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a
game, there is no harm in that."[260] In more recent years, the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has organized a "Saint Fest" on
Halloween.[261] Similarly, many contemporary Protestant churches view
Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches
where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy
for free. To these Christians, Halloween holds no threat to the
spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and
the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson
and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage.[262] Christian
minister Sam Portaro wrote that Halloween is about using "humor and
ridicule to confront the power of death".[263]
In the Roman
Catholic Church, Halloween's Christian connection is acknowledged, and
Halloween celebrations are common in many Catholic parochial schools in
the United States.[264][265] Many fundamentalist and evangelical
churches use "Hell houses" and comic-style tracts in order to make use
of Halloween's popularity as an opportunity for evangelism.[266] Others
consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian
faith due to its putative origins in the Festival of the Dead
celebration.[267] Indeed, even though Eastern Orthodox Christians
observe All Hallows' Day on the First Sunday after Pentecost, The
Eastern Orthodox Church recommends the observance of Vespers or a
Paraklesis on the Western observance of All Hallows' Eve, out of the
pastoral need to provide an alternative to popular celebrations.[268]
Analogous celebrations and perspectives
Judaism
According
to Alfred J. Kolatch in the Second Jewish Book of Why, in Judaism,
Halloween is not permitted by Jewish Halakha because it violates
Leviticus 18:3, which forbids Jews from partaking in gentile customs.
Many Jews observe Yizkor communally four times a year, which is vaguely
similar to the observance of Allhallowtide in Christianity, in the sense
that prayers are said for both "martyrs and for one's own family".[269]
Nevertheless, many American Jews celebrate Halloween, disconnected from
its Christian origins.[270] Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser has said
that "There is no religious reason why contemporary Jews should not
celebrate Halloween" while Orthodox Rabbi Michael Broyde has argued
against Jews' observing the holiday.[271] Purim has sometimes been
compared to Halloween, in part due to some observants wearing costumes,
especially of Biblical figures described in the Purim narrative.[272]
Islam
Sheikh
Idris Palmer, author of A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding
Islam, has ruled that Muslims should not participate in Halloween,
stating that "participation in Halloween is worse than participation in
Christmas, Easter, ... it is more sinful than congratulating the
Christians for their prostration to the crucifix".[273] It has also been
ruled to be haram by the National Fatwa Council of Malaysia because of
its alleged pagan roots stating "Halloween is celebrated using a
humorous theme mixed with horror to entertain and resist the spirit of
death that influence humans".[274][275] Dar Al-Ifta Al-Missriyyah
disagrees provided the celebration is not referred to as an 'eid' and
that behaviour remains in line with Islamic principles.[276]
Hinduism
Hindus
remember the dead during the festival of Pitru Paksha, during which
Hindus pay homage to and perform a ceremony "to keep the souls of their
ancestors at rest". It is celebrated in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada,
usually in mid-September.[277] The celebration of the Hindu festival
Diwali sometimes conflicts with the date of Halloween; but some Hindus
choose to participate in the popular customs of Halloween.[278] Other
Hindus, such as Soumya Dasgupta, have opposed the celebration on the
grounds that Western holidays like Halloween have "begun to adversely
affect our indigenous festivals".[279]
Neopaganism
There is no
consistent rule or view on Halloween amongst those who describe
themselves as Neopagans or Wiccans. Some Neopagans do not observe
Halloween, but instead observe Samhain on 1 November,[280] some
neopagans do enjoy Halloween festivities, stating that one can observe
both "the solemnity of Samhain in addition to the fun of Halloween".
Some neopagans are opposed to the celebration of Hallowe'en, stating
that it "trivializes Samhain",[281] and "avoid Halloween, because of the
interruptions from trick or treaters".[282] The Manitoban writes that
"Wiccans don't officially celebrate Halloween, despite the fact that 31
Oct. will still have a star beside it in any good Wiccan's day planner.
Starting at sundown, Wiccans celebrate a holiday known as Samhain.
Samhain actually comes from old Celtic traditions and is not exclusive
to Neopagan religions like Wicca. While the traditions of this holiday
originate in Celtic countries, modern day Wiccans don't try to
historically replicate Samhain celebrations. Some traditional Samhain
rituals are still practised, but at its core, the period is treated as a
time to celebrate darkness and the dead – a possible reason why Samhain
can be confused with Halloween celebrations."[280]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Halloween
Halloween display in Kobe, Japan
The
traditions and importance of Halloween vary greatly among countries
that observe it. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween customs
include children dressing up in costume going "guising", holding
parties, while other practices in Ireland include lighting bonfires, and
having firework displays.[172][283][284] In Brittany children would
play practical jokes by setting candles inside skulls in graveyards to
frighten visitors.[285] Mass transatlantic immigration in the 19th
century popularized Halloween in North America, and celebration in the
United States and Canada has had a significant impact on how the event
is observed in other nations.[172] This larger North American influence,
particularly in iconic and commercial elements, has extended to places
such as Brazil, Ecuador, Chile,[286] Australia,[287] New Zealand,[288]
(most) continental Europe, Finland,[289] Japan, and other parts of East
Asia." (wikipedia.org)
"A
jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly
made from a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a rutabaga or turnip.[1]
Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name
comes from the reported phenomenon of strange lights flickering over
peat bogs, called will-o'-the-wisps or jack-o'-lanterns. The name is
also tied to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains
with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip
to light his way.
Jack-o'-lanterns carved from pumpkins are a
yearly Halloween tradition that developed in the United States when
Celtic Americans brought their root vegetable carving tradition with
them.[2] It is common to see jack-o'-lanterns used as external and
internal decorations prior to and on Halloween.
To make a
jack-o'-lantern, the top of a pumpkin or turnip is cut off to form a
lid, the inside flesh is scooped out, and an image—usually a "scary" or
"funny" face—is carved out of the rind to expose the hollow interior. A
light source, traditionally a flames from a candle or tealight, is
placed within before the lid is closed. Artificial jack-o'-lanterns with
electric lights are also marketed.
Etymology
An assortment of carved pumpkins.
The
term jack-o'-lantern was originally used to describe the visual
phenomenon ignis fatuus (lit., "foolish fire") known as a
will-o'-the-wisp in English folklore.[3] Used especially in East
England, its earliest known use dates to the 1660s.[4]
History
A
plaster cast of a traditional Irish Jack-o'-Lantern in the Museum of
Country Life, Ireland. Rutabaga or turnip were often used.
Modern carving of a Cornish Jack-o'-Lantern made from a turnip.
Origin
The
carving of vegetables has been a common practice in many parts of the
world. It is believed that the custom of making jack-o'-lanterns at
Halloween time began in the British Isles. [5][6][7] In the 19th
century, "turnips or mangel wurzels, hollowed out to act as lanterns and
often carved with grotesque faces," were used on Halloween in parts of
Ireland and the Scottish Highlands.[8] In these Gaelic-speaking regions,
Halloween was also the festival of Samhain and was seen as a time when
supernatural beings (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, walked the
earth. Jack-o'-lanterns were also made at Halloween time in Somerset,
England (see Punkie Night) during the 19th century.[8]
By those
who made them, the lanterns were said to represent either spirits or
supernatural beings,[8] or were used to ward off evil spirits.[9] For
example, sometimes they were used by Halloween participants to frighten
people,[9][10][11] and sometimes they were set on windowsills to keep
harmful spirits out of one's home.[10] It has also been suggested that
the jack-o'-lanterns originally represented Christian souls in
purgatory, as Halloween is the eve of All Saints' Day (1 November)/All
Souls' Day (2 November).[12]
On January 16 in 1836, the Dublin
Penny Journal published a long story on the legend of
"Jack-o'-the-Lantern", although this does not mention the lantern being
carved from a vegetable.[13] In 1837, the Limerick Chronicle refers to a
local pub holding a carved gourd competition and presenting a prize to
"the best crown of Jack McLantern". The term "McLantern" also appears in
an 1841 publication of the same paper.[citation needed]
There is
also evidence that turnips were used to carve what was called a
"Hoberdy's Lantern" in Worcestershire, England, at the end of the 18th
century. The folklorist Jabez Allies outlines other derivations of the
name, "Hobany's", which is most likely derived from "Hob and his", with
other variations including "Hob-o'-Lantern", "Hobbedy's Lantern" and
"Hobbady-lantern".[14]
In North America
Adaptations of
Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820)
often show the Headless Horseman with a pumpkin or jack-o'-lantern in
place of his severed head. (In the original story, a shattered pumpkin
is discovered next to Ichabod Crane's abandoned hat on the morning after
Crane's supposed encounter with the Horseman.)
The application
of the term to carved pumpkins in American English is first seen in
1834.[15] The carved pumpkin lantern's association with Halloween is
recorded in the 1 November 1866 edition of the Daily News (Kingston,
Ontario):
The old time custom of keeping up Hallowe'en was
not forgotten last night by the youngsters of the city. They had their
maskings and their merry-makings, and perambulated the streets after
dark in a way which was no doubt amusing to themselves. There was a
great sacrifice of pumpkins from which to make transparent heads and
face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches of tallow candle.[16]
James
Fenimore Cooper wrote a nautical novel titled The Jack O'lantern (le
Feu-Follet), Or the Privateer (1842). The Jack O'lantern was the name of
the ship.[17]
The poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who was born in Massachusetts in 1807, wrote the poem "The Pumpkin" (1850):[18]
Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!
In
1879's Funny Nursery Rhymes, a poem admonishes children to avoid being
similar to untrustworthy "Master Jack o' Lantern," described as a
"wicked, deceiving boy" similar to a will-o'-the-wisp who "dances, and
jumps, and gambols." He is humorously illustrated as a personification
of a lantern.[19]
Agnes Carr Sage, in the article, "Halloween Sports and Customs" (Harper's Young People (1885):[20]
It is an ancient British custom to light great bonfires (Bone-fire to
clear before Winter froze the ground) on Hallowe'en, and carry blazing
fagots about on long poles; but in place of this, American boys delight
in the funny grinning jack-o'-lanterns made of huge yellow pumpkins with
a candle inside.
In the United States, the carved pumpkin was
first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it
became a symbol of Halloween.[21] In 1895, an article on Thanksgiving
entertaining recommended a lit jack-o'-lantern as part of the
festivities.[21][22]
Folklore
A commercial "R.I.P." pattern.
Halloween jack-o'-lantern.
Pumpkin projected onto the wall.
The
story of the jack-o'-lantern comes in many forms and is similar to the
story of Will-o'-the-wisp[23] retold in different forms across Western
Europe,[24] including, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden.[25] In
Switzerland, children will leave bowls of milk or cream out for mythical
house spirits called Jack o' the bowl.[26] An old Irish folk tale from
the mid-18th century tells of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd blacksmith
who uses a cross to trap Satan. One story says that Jack tricked Satan
into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there, Jack quickly
placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that
Satan couldn't get down.[27]
Another version[citation needed] of
the story says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom
he had stolen. He then met Satan, who claimed it was time for him to
die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting Satan with a
chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told
Satan to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods
(Satan could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin (Satan)
disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it.
The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and
jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack
had also picked up in the village. Jack closed the wallet tight, and the
cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped.
In
both folktales, Jack lets Satan go only after he agrees to never take
his soul. Many years later, the thief died, as all living things do. Of
course, Jack's life had been too sinful for him to go to Heaven;
however, Satan had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred
from Hell as well.[28] Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would
see where to go, as he had no light, and Satan mockingly tossed him a
burning coal, to light his way. Jack carved out one of his turnips
(which were his favorite food), put the coal inside it, and began
endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place.[28] He became known
as "Jack of the Lantern", or jack o'lantern.
Cornish folklorist
Dr. Thomas Quiller Couch (d. 1884) recorded the use of the term in a
rhyme used in Polperro, Cornwall, in conjunction with Joan the Wad, the
Cornish version of Will-o'-the-wisp. The people of Polperro regarded
them both as pixies. The rhyme goes:[29]
Jack o' the lantern! Joan the wad,
Who tickled the maid and made her mad
Light me home, the weather's bad.
Jack-o-lanterns
were also a way of protecting one's home against the undead.
Superstitious people[30] used them specifically to ward off vampires.
They thought this because it was said that the jack-o-lantern's light
was a way of identifying vampires who, once their identity was known,
would give up their hunt for you.
Pumpkin craft
A jack-o'-lantern
Sections
of the pumpkin or turnip are cut out to make holes, often depicting a
face, which may be either cheerful, scary, or comical.[31]
World records
For
a long time, Keene, New Hampshire, held the world record for most
jack-o'-lanterns carved and lit in one place. The Life is Good Company
teamed up with Camp Sunshine,[32] a camp for children with
life-threatening illnesses and their families, to break the record. A
record was set on October 21, 2006, when 30,128 jack-o'-lanterns were
simultaneously lit on Boston Common in downtown Boston,
Massachusetts.[33] Highwood, Illinois, tried to set the record on
October 31, 2011, with an unofficial count of 30,919 but did not follow
the Guinness regulations, so the achievement did not count.[34]
On
October 19, 2013, Keene broke the Boston record and reclaimed the world
record for most lit jack-o'-lanterns on display (30,581). The town has
now broken the record eight times since the original attempt."
(wikipedia.org)
"A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time.
A person who makes candles is traditionally known as a chandler.[1] Various devices have been invented to hold candles.
For a candle to burn, a heat source (commonly a naked flame from a match or lighter) is used to light the candle's wick, which melts and vaporizes a small amount of fuel (the wax). Once vaporized, the fuel combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to ignite and form a constant flame. This flame provides sufficient heat to keep the candle burning via a self-sustaining chain of events: the heat of the flame melts the top of the mass of solid fuel; the liquefied fuel then moves upward through the wick via capillary action; the liquefied fuel finally vaporizes to burn within the candle's flame.
As the fuel (wax) is melted and burned, the candle becomes shorter. Portions of the wick that are not emitting vaporized fuel are consumed in the flame. The incineration of the wick limits the length of the exposed portion of the wick, thus maintaining a constant burning temperature and rate of fuel consumption. Some wicks require regular trimming with scissors (or a specialized wick trimmer), usually to about one-quarter inch (~0.7 cm), to promote slower, steady burning, and also to prevent smoking. Special candle scissors called "snuffers" were produced for this purpose in the 20th century and were often combined with an extinguisher. In modern candles, the wick is constructed so that it curves over as it burns. This ensures that the end of the wick gets oxygen and is then consumed by fire—a self-trimming wick.[2]
Etymology
The word candle comes from Middle English candel, from Old English and from Anglo-Norman candele, both from Latin candēla, from candēre 'to shine'....Modern era
Price's Candles had become the largest candle manufacturer in the world by the end of the 19th century
The manufacture of candles became an industrialized mass market in the mid 19th century. In 1834, Joseph Morgan,[11] a pewterer from Manchester, England, patented a machine that revolutionised candle making. It allowed for continuous production of molded candles by using a cylinder with a moveable piston to eject candles as they solidified. This more efficient mechanized production produced about 1,500 candles per hour. This allowed candles to be an affordable commodity for the masses.[12] Candlemakers also began to fashion wicks out of tightly braided (rather than simply twisted) strands of cotton. This technique makes wicks curl over as they burn, maintaining the height of the wick and therefore the flame. Because much of the excess wick is incinerated, these are referred to as "self-trimming" or "self-consuming" wicks.[13]
In the mid-1850s, James Young succeeded in distilling paraffin wax from coal and oil shales at Bathgate in West Lothian and developed a commercially viable method of production.[14] Paraffin could be used to make inexpensive candles of high quality. It was a bluish-white wax, which burned cleanly and left no unpleasant odor, unlike tallow candles. By the end of the 19th century, candles were made from paraffin wax and.
By the late 19th century, Price's Candles, based in London, was the largest candle manufacturer in the world.[15] Founded by William Wilson in 1830,[16] the company pioneered the implementation of the technique of steam distillation, and was thus able to manufacture candles from a wide range of raw materials, including skin fat, bone fat, fish oil and industrial greases.
Despite advances in candle making, the candle industry declined rapidly upon the introduction of superior methods of lighting, including kerosene and lamps and the 1879 invention of the incandescent light bulb. From this point on, candles came to be marketed as more of a decorative item....Use
See also: Ceremonial use of lights § Candles
Candle lighting in the Visoki Dečani monastery
Before the invention of electric lighting, candles and oil lamps were commonly used for illumination. In areas without electricity, they are still used routinely. Until the 20th century, candles were more common in northern Europe. In southern Europe and the Mediterranean, oil lamps predominated.
In the developed world today, candles are used mainly for their aesthetic value and scent, particularly to set a soft, warm, or romantic ambiance, for emergency lighting during electrical power failures, and for religious or ritual purposes.[18]
In the 21st century, there has been a huge spike in sales of scented candles in recent years.[19][18] The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns led to a dramatic increase in the sales of scented candles, diffusers and room sprays.[20]
Other uses
A type of candle clock
With the fairly consistent and measurable burning of a candle, a common use of candles was to tell the time. The candle designed for this purpose might have time measurements, usually in hours, marked along the wax. The Song dynasty in China (960–1279) used candle clocks.[21]
By the 18th century, candle clocks were being made with weights set into the sides of the candle. As the candle melted, the weights fell off and made a noise as they fell into a bowl.
In the days leading to Christmas, some people burn a candle a set amount to represent each day, as marked on the candle. The type of candle used in this way is called the Advent candle,[22] although this term is also used to refer to a candle that are used in an Advent wreath....Candle holders
Decorative candleholders, especially those shaped as a pedestal, are called candlesticks; if multiple candle tapers are held, the term candelabrum is also used. The root form of chandelier is from the word for candle, but now usually refers to an electric fixture. The word chandelier is sometimes now used to describe a hanging fixture designed to hold multiple tapers.
Many candle holders use a friction-tight socket to keep the candle upright. In this case, a candle that is slightly too wide will not fit in the holder, and a candle that is slightly too narrow will wobble. Candles that are too big can be trimmed to fit with a knife; candles that are too small can be fitted with aluminium foil. Traditionally, the candle and candle holders were made in the same place, so they were appropriately sized, but international trade has combined the modern candle with existing holders, which makes the ill-fitting candle more common. This friction-tight socket is only needed for the federals[clarification needed] and the tapers. For tea light candles, there is a variety of candle holders, including small glass holders and elaborate multi-candle stands. The same is true for votives. Wall sconces are available for tea light and votive candles. For pillar-type candles, the assortment of candle holders is broad. A fireproof plate, such as a glass plate or small mirror, can be a candle holder for a pillar-style candle. A pedestal of any kind, with the appropriate-sized fireproof top, is another option. A large glass bowl with a large flat bottom and tall mostly vertical curved sides is called a hurricane. The pillar-style candle is placed at the bottom center of the hurricane. A hurricane on a pedestal is sometimes sold as a unit.
A bobèche is a drip-catching ring, which may also be affixed to a candle holder, or used independently of one. Bobèches can range from ornate metal or glass to simple plastic, cardboard, or wax paper. Use of paper or plastic bobèches is common at events where candles are distributed to a crowd or audience, such as Christmas carolers or people at other concerts or festivals." (wikipedia.org)
"A
pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and
varieties in the genus Cucurbita that has culinary and cultural
significance[1][2] but no agreed upon botanical or scientific
meaning.[3] The term pumpkin is sometimes used interchangeably with
"squash" or "winter squash", and is commonly used for cultivars of
Cucurbita argyrosperma, Cucurbita ficifolia, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita
moschata, and Cucurbita pepo.[1]
Native to North America
(northeastern Mexico and the southern United States), C. pepo pumpkins
are one of the oldest domesticated plants, having been used as early as
7,000 to 5,500 BC. Today, pumpkins of varied species are widely grown
for food, as well as for aesthetic and recreational purposes.[4] The
pumpkin's thick shell contains edible seeds and pulp. Pumpkin pie, for
instance, is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in Canada and the
United States, and pumpkins are frequently carved as jack-o'-lanterns
for decoration around Halloween, although commercially canned pumpkin
purée and pumpkin pie fillings are usually made of different pumpkin
varieties from those used for jack-o'-lanterns.[5]
Etymology and terminology
According
to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English word pumpkin derives from
the Ancient Greek word πέπων (romanized pepōn), meaning 'melon'.[6][7]
Under this theory, the term transitioned through the Latin word peponem
and the Middle French word pompon to the Early Modern English pompion,
which was changed to pumpkin by 17th-century English colonists, shortly
after encountering pumpkins upon their arrival in what is now the
northeastern United States.[6]
An alternate derivation for
pumpkin is the Massachusett word pôhpukun, meaning 'grows forth
round'.[8] This term would likely have been used by the Wampanoag people
(who speak the Wôpanâak dialect of Massachusett) when introducing
pumpkins to English Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony, located in present-day
Massachusetts.[9] The English word squash is also derived from a
Massachusett word, variously transcribed as askꝏtasquash,[10]
ashk8tasqash, or, in the closely-related Narragansett language,
askútasquash.[11]
Researchers have noted that the term pumpkin
and related terms like ayote and calabaza are applied to a range of
winter squash with varying size and shape.[1] The term tropical pumpkin
is sometimes used for pumpkin cultivars of the species Cucurbita
moschata.[12]
Description
Cross section of a Cucurbita maxima pumpkin
Pumpkin
fruits are a type of botanical berry known as a pepo.[13]
Characteristics commonly used to define "pumpkin" include smooth and
slightly ribbed skin,[14] and deep yellow to orange color.[14] White,
green, and other pumpkin colors also exist.[15]
While C. pepo
pumpkins generally weigh between 3 and 8 kilograms (6 and 18 lb), Giant
pumpkins can exceed a tonne in mass.[16][17] Most are varieties of
Cucurbita maxima, and were developed through the efforts of botanical
societies and enthusiast farmers.[16] The largest cultivars of the
species Curcubita maxima frequently reach weights of over 34 kg (75 lb),
with current record weights of over 1,226 kg (2,703 lbs). [18]
History
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2022)
The
oldest evidence of Cucurbita pepo pumpkin is fragments found in Mexico
that are dated between 7,000 and 5,500 BC.[19] Pumpkins and other squash
species, alongside maize and beans, feature in the Three Sisters method
of companion planting practiced by many North American indigenous
societies.[20] Although larger modern pumpkin cultivars are typically
excluded as their weight may damage the other crops.[21] Within decades
after Europeans began colonizing North America, illustrations of
pumpkins similar to the modern cultivars Small Sugar pumpkin and
Connecticut Field pumpkin were published in Europe.[13]
Cultivation
Pumpkins
are a warm-weather crop that is usually planted by early July in the
Northern Hemisphere. Pumpkins require that soil temperatures 8
centimetres (3 in) deep are at least 15.5 °C (60 °F) and that the soil
holds water well. Pumpkin crops may suffer if there is a lack of water,
because of temperatures below 18 °C or 65 °F, or if grown in soils that
become waterlogged. Within these conditions, pumpkins are considered
hardy, and even if many leaves and portions of the vine are removed or
damaged, the plant can quickly grow secondary vines to replace what was
removed.[22]
Pumpkins produce both a male and female flower, with
fertilization usually performed by bees.[22] In America, pumpkins have
historically been pollinated by the native squash bee, Peponapis
pruinosa, but that bee has declined, probably partly due to pesticide
(imidacloprid) sensitivity.[23] Ground-based bees, such as squash bees
and the eastern bumblebee, are better suited to manage the larger pollen
particles that pumpkins create.[24][25] One hive per acre (0.4
hectares, or five hives per 2 hectares) is recommended by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. If there are inadequate bees for pollination,
gardeners may have to hand pollinate. Inadequately pollinated pumpkins
usually start growing but fail to develop.
Production
Pumpkin production – 2020
(includes squash and gourds) Country millions of tonnes
China 7.4
India 5.1
Ukraine 1.3
Russia 1.1
United States 1.1
Spain 0.8
World 28.0
Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations[26]
In
2020, world production of pumpkins (including squash and gourds) was 28
million tonnes, with China accounting for 27% of the total. Ukraine and
Russia each produced about one million tonnes.[26]
In the United States
A pumpkin patch in Winchester, Oregon
As
one of the most popular crops in the United States[further explanation
needed], in 2017 over 680 million kilograms (1.5 billion pounds) of
pumpkins were produced.[22] The top pumpkin-producing states include
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California.[4] Pumpkin is the
state squash of Texas.[27]
According to the Illinois Department
of Agriculture, 95% of the U.S. crop intended for processing is grown in
Illinois.[28] And 41% of the overall pumpkin crop for all uses
originates in the state, more than five times the nearest competitor
(California, whose pumpkin industry is centered in the San Joaquin
Valley), and the majority of that comes from five counties in the
central part of the state.[29] Nestlé, operating under the brand name
Libby's, produces 85% of the processed pumpkin in the United States, at
their plant in Morton, Illinois.
In the fall of 2009, rain in
Illinois devastated the Nestlé's Libby's pumpkin crop, which, combined
with a relatively weak 2008 crop depleting that year's reserves,
resulted in a shortage affecting the entire country during the
Thanksgiving holiday season.[30] Another shortage, somewhat less severe,
affected the 2015 crop.[31][32]
The pumpkin crop grown in the
western United States, which constitutes approximately 3–4% of the
national crop, is primarily for the organic market.[33] Terry County,
Texas, has a substantial pumpkin industry, centered largely on miniature
pumpkins.[29] Illinois farmer Sarah Frey is called "the Pumpkin Queen
of America" and sells around five million pumpkins annually,
predominantly for use as lanterns.[34][35]
Nutrition
This
section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Nutrition information
should be more broadly representative of pumpkin species and varieties,
and should not rely on a deprecated database. Please help update this
article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
(November 2022)
Pumpkin, rawNutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 109 kJ (26 kcal)
Carbohydrates
6.5 g
Sugars 2.76 g
Dietary fiber 0.5 g
Fat
0.1 g
Protein
1 g
Vitamins Quantity
%DV†
Vitamin A equiv.
beta-Carotene
lutein zeaxanthin
53%
426 μg
29%
3100 μg
1500 μg
Thiamine (B1)
4%
0.05 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
9%
0.11 mg
Niacin (B3)
4%
0.6 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
6%
0.298 mg
Vitamin B6
5%
0.061 mg
Folate (B9)
4%
16 μg
Vitamin C
11%
9 mg
Vitamin E
3%
0.44 mg
Vitamin K
1%
1.1 μg
Minerals Quantity
%DV†
Calcium
2%
21 mg
Iron
6%
0.8 mg
Magnesium
3%
12 mg
Manganese
6%
0.125 mg
Phosphorus
6%
44 mg
Potassium
7%
340 mg
Sodium
0%
1 mg
Zinc
3%
0.32 mg
Other constituents Quantity
Water 91.6 g
Link to USDA Database entry
Units
μg = micrograms • mg = milligrams
IU = International units
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
In
a 100-gram (3.5 oz) amount, raw pumpkin provides 110 kilojoules (26
kilocalories) of food energy and is an excellent source (20% or more the
Daily Value, DV) of provitamin A beta-carotene and vitamin A (53% DV)
(table). Vitamin C is present in moderate content (11% DV), but no other
nutrients are in significant amounts (less than 10% DV, table). Pumpkin
is 92% water, 6.5% carbohydrate, 0.1% fat and 1% protein (table).
Uses
Cooking
See also: List of squash and pumpkin dishes
Pumpkin pie is a popular way of preparing pumpkin
Roasted pumpkin
Butternut Pumpkin jam in Tabriz, Iranian Azerbaijan
Most
parts of the pumpkin plant are edible, including the fleshy shell, the
seeds, the leaves, and the flowers. When ripe, the pumpkin can be
boiled, steamed, or roasted. Pumpkins that are immature may be eaten as
summer squash.
Shell and flesh
In North America, pumpkins are
an important part of the traditional autumn harvest, eaten mashed[36]
and making its way into soups and purées. Often, pumpkin flesh is made
into pie, various kinds of which are a traditional staple of the
Canadian and American Thanksgiving holidays.[37] Pumpkin purée is
sometimes prepared and frozen for later use.[38] A 2003 review of United
States processing and canning practices noted that the most common
commercially-canned pumpkin varieties were Connecticut field pumpkin,
Dickinson pumpkin, Kentucky field pumpkin, Boston marrow, and Golden
Delicious.[5]
In the Middle East, pumpkin is used for sweet
dishes; a well-known sweet delicacy is called halawa yaqtin. In the
Indian subcontinent, pumpkin is cooked with butter, sugar, and spices in
a dish called kadu ka halwa.[citation needed] Pumpkin is used to make
sambar in Udupi cuisine.[citation needed] In Australia and New Zealand,
pumpkin is often roasted in conjunction with other vegetables.[citation
needed] In Japan, small pumpkins are served in savory dishes, including
tempura.[citation needed] In Myanmar, pumpkins are used in both cooking
and desserts (candied).[citation needed] In Thailand, small pumpkins are
steamed with custard inside and served as a dessert. In Vietnam,
pumpkins are commonly cooked in soups with pork or shrimp. In Italy, it
can be used with cheeses as a savory stuffing for ravioli.[citation
needed] In western and central Kenya, pumpkin flesh is usually boiled or
steamed.[39][failed verification]
Pumpkin is used in both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.[citation needed]
Association
of pumpkins with harvest time and pumpkin pie at Canadian and American
Thanksgiving reinforce its iconic role. Starbucks turned this
association into marketing with its Pumpkin Spice Latte, introduced in
2003.[40] This has led to a notable trend in pumpkin and spice flavored
food products in North America.[41]
Flowers
A pumpkin flower, one of the edible parts of the plant
In
the southwestern United States and Mexico, pumpkin and squash flowers
are a popular and widely available food item. They may be used to
garnish dishes, or dredged in a batter then fried in oil.
Leaves
Pumpkin leaf kimchi
In
Guangxi province, China, the leaves of the pumpkin plant are consumed
as a cooked vegetable or in soups.[citation needed] Korean cuisine makes
use of pumpkin leaves, usually of C. moschata varieties.[citation
needed]
Pumpkin leaves are a popular vegetable in the western and
central regions of Kenya; they are called seveve, and are an ingredient
of mukimo,[39] Pumpkin leaves are also eaten in Zambia, where they are
called chibwabwa and are boiled and cooked with groundnut paste as a
side dish.[42]
Seeds
Main article: Pumpkin seed
Pumpkin seeds (matured)
Pumpkin
seeds, also known as pepitas, are edible and nutrient-rich. They are
about 1.5 cm (0.5 in) long, flat, asymmetrically oval, light green in
color and usually covered by a white husk, although some pumpkin
varieties produce seeds without them. Pumpkin seeds are a popular snack
that can be found hulled or semi-hulled at grocery stores. Per ounce
serving, pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, magnesium, copper
and zinc.[43]
In Myanmar, the seeds are a popular sunflower seed
substitute.[citation needed] Pumpkin seeds are popular with Kenyan
children, who roast them on a pan before eating them.[39][failed
verification]
Pumpkin seed oil
Main article: Pumpkin seed oil
Pumpkin
seed oil is a thick oil pressed from roasted seeds that appears red or
green in color.[44][45] When used for cooking or as a salad dressing,
pumpkin seed oil is generally mixed with other oils because of its
robust flavor.[46] Pumpkin seed oil contains fatty acids, such as oleic
acid and alpha-linolenic acid.[47]
Other uses
Medicinal
Pumpkins
have been used as folk medicine by Native Americans to treat intestinal
worms and urinary ailments, and this Native American remedy was adopted
by American doctors in the early nineteenth century as an anthelmintic
for the expulsion of worms.[48][qualify evidence] In Germany and
southeastern Europe, seeds of C. pepo were also used as folk remedies to
treat irritable bladder and benign prostatic
hyperplasia.[49][50][qualify evidence]
In China, C. moschata
seeds were also used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment
of the parasitic disease schistosomiasis[51] and for the expulsion of
tape worms.[52][qualify evidence].
Animal feed
Pumpkin seed
meal from Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata have been demonstrated
to improve the nutrition of eggs for human consumption, and Cucurbita
pepo seed has successfully been used in place of soybean in chicken
feed.[53][54]
Culture
Halloween
Main article: Jack o' lantern
A pumpkin carved into a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween
In
the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the
harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of
Halloween.[55] The practice of carving produce for Halloween originated
from an Irish myth about a man named "Stingy Jack".[4] The practice of
carving pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns for the Halloween season developed from
a traditional practice in Ireland as well as Scotland and other parts
of the United Kingdom of carving lanterns from the turnip, mangelwurzel,
or swede (rutabaga).[56][57] These vegetables continue to be popular
choices today as carved lanterns in Scotland and Northern Ireland,
although the British purchased a million pumpkins for Halloween in 2004
reflecting the spread of pumpkin carving in the United Kingdom.[58]
Immigrants
to North America began using the native pumpkins for carving, which are
both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve
than turnips.[57] Not until 1837 does jack-o'-lantern appear as a term
for a carved vegetable lantern,[59] and the carved pumpkin lantern
association with Halloween is recorded in 1866.[60]
In 1900, an
article on Thanksgiving entertaining recommended a lit jack-o'-lantern
as part of the festivities that encourage kids and families to join
together to make their own jack-o'-lanterns.[55]
The traditional
American pumpkin used for jack-o-lanterns is the Connecticut field
variety.[4][61][62][63] Kentucky Field pumpkin is also among the pumpkin
cultivars grown specifically for jack-o-lantern carving.[13]
Chunking
Pumpkin
chunking is a competitive activity in which teams build various
mechanical devices designed to throw a pumpkin as far as possible.
Catapults, trebuchets, ballistas and air cannons are the most common
mechanisms.[citation needed]
Pumpkin festivals and competitions
Giant Cucurbita maxima pumpkins
Growers
of giant pumpkins often compete to grow the most massive pumpkins.
Festivals may be dedicated to the pumpkin and these competitions. In the
United States, the town of Half Moon Bay, California, holds an annual
Art and Pumpkin Festival, including the World Champion Pumpkin
Weigh-Off.[64]
The record for the world's heaviest pumpkin, 1,226 kg (2,703 lb), was established in Italy in 2021.[17]
Folklore and fiction
There is a connection in folklore and popular culture between pumpkins and the supernatural, such as:
The custom of carving jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins derives from folklore about a lost soul wandering the earth.
In the fairy tale Cinderella, the fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a
carriage for the title character, but at midnight it reverts to a
pumpkin.
In some adaptations of Washington Irving's ghost story
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the headless horseman is said to use a
pumpkin as a substitute head.
In most folklore the carved pumpkin
is meant to scare away evil spirits on All Hallows' Eve (that is,
Halloween), when the dead were purported to walk the earth.
Cultivars
See also: List of gourds and squashes
The
species and varieties include many economically important cultivars
with a variety of different shapes, colors, and flavors that are grown
for different purposes. Variety is used here interchangeably with
cultivar, but not with species or taxonomic variety.
Image Name Species Origin Description
Al Hachi Cucurbita moschata[citation needed] Kashmir The
people of Kashmir dry Al Hachi pumpkins to eat in the winter, when
snowfall can isolate the valley.[65]
A Big Max pumpkin at a county
fair in New York Big Max Cucurbita maxima [citation needed]
Big Max can exceed 100 pounds (45 kg) and 20 in (510 mm) in diameter
under ideal growing conditions.[66] The variety was hybridized for its
size during the early 1960s.[67] Individual fruits are round to slightly
flattened.[68][69]
Courges butternut 01.jpg Butternut pumpkin
Cucurbita moschata Massachusetts Often called Butternut
Squash, has a pumpkin-like flavor when eaten. Has orange flesh darker
than skin.
A pair of Cheese Pumpkin fruit Cheese pumpkin or Long
Island cheese pumpkin Cucurbita moschata North America, possibly
from an origin in Central America[70] So-called for its resemblance
to a wheel of cheese, this cultivar has been noted for its long storage
ability as well as relatively poor culinary characteristics.[71][13]
One of Duschesne's 1786 botanical illustrations depicts a fruit that has
been identified with the Cheese Pumpkin.[72]
A group of Connecticut
Field Pumpkin fruit Connecticut field pumpkin Cucurbita pepo
North America[13] Considered to be "one of the oldest pumpkins in
existence".[73] Widely used for autumn decorations, either whole or as
jack-o'-lanterns.[74]
Dickinson pumpkin or Libby's Select
Cucurbita moschata North America The oblong, ribbed fruits weigh
up to 40 pounds and are widely used for canning. Brought by Elijah
Dickinson from Kentucky to Illinois in 1835.[75] Cultivars similar to
the Dickinson Pumpkin were grown by the Seminole people as well as
farmers in Cuba and coastal and southern Mexico.[76] Libby's Select is
classified either as a selection from the Dickinson Pumpkin or a
selection from the same parent lineage.[77][78][79][80]
A group of
Dill's Atlantic Giant fruit Dill's Atlantic Giant Cucurbita
maxima North America Dill's Atlantic Giant was bred by Howard
Dill from sources including the Mammoth Pumpkin variety.[81][82] The
variety were patented in 1979, who then went on to set the giant pumpkin
in 1980 with a 459 lb (208 kg) record.[83]
A single Galeux d'
Eysines pumpkin as viewed from above Galeux d' Eysines or Peanut
pumpkin Cucurbita maxima France The Galeux d’ Eysines is
mentioned Vilmorin-Andrieux's album Les Plantes Potagères in 1883. It is
noted for peanut-like growths, caused by a buildup of sugar. Its name
may have originally been Borde Galeux d’ Eysines, translating to
embroidered with scabs from Eysines. Immature pumpkins can be etched
with words or designs that become warts as it matures. Galeux d’ Eysines
was reportedly brought to the United States in 1996 from the Foire aux
Potirons pumpkin festival in Tranzault, France by author Amy
Goldman.[84][85]
1912 advertisement for Japanese Pie Pumpkin seeds
Japanese pie pumpkin or Chinese alphabet squash Cucurbita
argyrosperma Pennsylvania Japanese Pie Pumpkin is so-called
because its seeds become crazed, resembling to Americans the appearance
of Chinese characters or Japanese kanji. This variety was introduced by
Samuel Wilson of Pennsylvania in 1884.[13]
An unripe Jarrahdale
Pumpkin Jarrahdale pumpkin Cucurbita maxima Australia A
variety with a blue-gray skin, named after the Western Australian town
of Jarrahdale. The Jarrahdale closely resembles the Queensland Blue. It
cuts easily, and has orange, sweet-tasting flesh.[86][87]
Jonathan pumpkin, White crookneck pumpkin, or White Salem
pumpkin[13][88] Cucurbita argyrosperma Available
commercially as early as 1891 from Livingston Seed.[13] The name
Jonathan may originate as a form of melioration against the character of
Brother Jonathan which was sometimes used as mocking personification of
the United States by satirists in Europe.[89] Brother Jonathan was also
used within the United States either as characterizing the epitome of
thrift and industriousness, or an unsophisticated bumpkin.[90]
A
whole kabocha pumpkin Kabocha or Japanese pumpkin Cucurbita
maxima Japan In North America, Kabocha or Japanese pumpkin are
generally kuri kabocha, a cultivar created from seiyo kabocha (buttercup
squash). Varieties of kabocha include Ajihei, Ajihei No. 107, Ajihei
No. 331, Ajihei No. 335, Cutie, Ebisu, Emiguri, Marron d'Or and
Miyako.[91][92] In Japan, "kabocha" may refer to either this squash, to
the Western pumpkin, or indeed to other squashes.[93]
Kentucky
field pumpkin Cucurbita moschata Cuba, Mexico, or the United
States Kentucky field pumpkin is among the pumpkin cultivars grown
specifically for jack-o-lantern carving.[71] It has been classified as
part of a group of Cucurbita moschata cultivars historically grown by
the Seminole people of the United States southeast, as well as by
farmers in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. Similar cultivars were
identified in Cuba as well as coastal and southern Mexico.[76]
A
Musquée de Provence fruit Musquée de Provence, Moscata di Provenza
or fairytale pumpkin Cucurbita moschata France A large
pumpkin from France with sweet, fragrant, deep-orange flesh often sold
by the slice due to its size.[94]
The ripe fruit of a Seminole
pumpkin as viewed from above Seminole pumpkin Cucurbita moschata
Florida A landrace originally cultivated by the Seminole people
of what is now Florida. Naturalists recorded Seminole pumpkins hanging
from trees in the 18th century.[95][96]
The ripe fruit of a Styrian
pumpkin as viewed from above Styrian pumpkin Cucurbita pepo
Styria Styrian pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo var. styriaca or
var. oleifera) have hull-less seeds, which are used in Austria and
Slovenia as part of a pumpkin seed oil industry that presses their
roasted seeds.[97][98]
A group of five Sugar Pumpkin fruit after
harvest Sugar pumpkin Cucurbita pepo North America The
sugar pumpkin is one of the earliest varieties of pumpkin documented by
European colonists upon arrival in North America. It has sweeter flesh
than the similar but larger Connecticut Field pumpkin from which sugar
pumpkins may have been selected.[13]
A West Indian pumpkin fruit
West Indian pumpkin, Cuban pumpkin, or Calabaza[72] Cucurbita
moschata Cuba and West Indies The West Indian pumpkin was
brought from Cuba and the West Indies to the Philippines and United
States." (wikipedia.org)
"Trick-or-treating
is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some
countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in
costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase
"trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually
candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The
"trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the
resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal
that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween
decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch
lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply
leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely,
on the honor system.
The history of trick-or-treating traces
back to Scotland and Ireland, where the tradition of guising, going
house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be
rewarded with food or treats, goes back at least as far as the 16th
century, as does the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween.
There are many accounts from 19th-century Scotland and Ireland of people
going house to house in costume at Halloween, reciting verses in
exchange for food, and sometimes warning of misfortune if they were not
welcomed.[1][2] In North America, the earliest known occurrence of
guising – children going from house to house for food or money while
disguised in costume[2] – is from 1911, when children were recorded as
having done this in the province of Ontario, Canada.[3] The interjection
"trick or treat!" was then first recorded in the same Canadian province
of Ontario in 1917. While going house to house in costume has long been
popular among the Scots and Irish, it is only in the 2000s that saying
"trick or treat" has become common in Scotland and Ireland.[4] Prior to
this, children in Ireland would commonly say "help the Halloween party"
at the doors of homeowners.[4]
The activity is prevalent in the
Anglospheric countries of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United
States, Canada, and Australia. It also has extended into Mexico. In
northwestern and central Mexico, the practice is called calaverita
(Spanish diminutive for calavera, "skull" in English), and instead of
"trick or treat", the children ask, "¿Me da mi calaverita?" ("[Can you]
give me my little skull?"), where a calaverita is a small skull made of
sugar or chocolate.
History
Ancient precursors
Traditions
similar to the modern custom of trick-or-treating extend all the way
back to classical antiquity, although it is extremely unlikely that any
of them are directly related to the modern custom. The ancient Greek
writer Athenaeus of Naucratis records in his book The Deipnosophists
that, in ancient times, the Greek island of Rhodes had a custom in which
children would go from door-to-door dressed as swallows, singing a
song, which demanded the owners of the house to give them food and
threatened to cause mischief if the owners of the house
refused.[5][6][7] This tradition was claimed to have been started by the
Rhodian lawgiver Cleobulus.[8]
Souling
Since the Middle Ages,
a tradition of mumming on a certain holiday has existed in parts of
Britain and Ireland. It involved going door-to-door in costume,
performing short scenes or parts of plays in exchange for food or drink.
The custom of trick-or-treating on Halloween may come from the belief
that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at
this time and needed to be appeased.
"A soul-cake, a soul-cake, have mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake." — a popular English souling rhyme[9]
It
may otherwise have originated in a Celtic festival, Samhain, held on 31
October–1 November, to mark the beginning of winter, in Ireland,
Scotland and the Isle of Man, and Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Cornwall, and
Brittany. The festival is believed to have pre-Christian roots. In the
9th century, the Catholic Church made 1 November All Saints' Day. Among
Celtic-speaking peoples, it was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits
or fairies (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, came into our world
and were appeased with offerings of food and drink. Similar beliefs and
customs were found in other parts of Europe. It is suggested that
trick-or-treating evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated
the spirits, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their
behalf. S. V. Peddle suggests they "personify the old spirits of the
winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune".[10]
Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect
oneself from them.[11]
Starting as far back as the 15th century,
among Christians, there had been a custom of sharing soul-cakes at
Allhallowtide (October 31 through November 2).[12][13] People would
visit houses and take soul-cakes, either as representatives of the dead,
or in return for praying for their souls.[14] Later, people went "from
parish to parish at Halloween, begging soul-cakes by singing under the
windows some such verse as this: 'Soul, souls, for a soul-cake; Pray you
good mistress, a soul-cake!'"[15] They typically asked for "mercy on
all Christian souls for a soul-cake".[16] It was known as 'Souling' and
was recorded in parts of Britain, Flanders, southern Germany, and
Austria.[17] Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two
Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling
[whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas".[18] In western
England, mostly in the counties bordering Wales, souling was common.[13]
According to one 19th century English writer "parties of children,
dressed up in fantastic costume […] went round to the farm houses and
cottages, singing a song, and begging for cakes (spoken of as
"soal-cakes"), apples, money, or anything that the goodwives would give
them".[19]
Guising
"Guising" redirects here. For other uses, see Guising (disambiguation).
Halloween shop in Derry, Northern Ireland. Halloween masks are called ‘false faces’ in Ireland and Scotland.
In
Scotland and Ireland, "guising" – children going from door to door in
disguise – is traditional, and a gift in the form of food, coins or
"apples or nuts for the Halloween party" (and in more recent times,
chocolate) is given out to the children.[4][20][21] The tradition is
called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn by the
children.[2][22] In the West Mid Scots dialect, guising is known as
"galoshans".[23] In Scotland, youths went house to house in white with
masked, painted or blackened faces, reciting rhymes and often
threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[24][25]
Guising
has been recorded in Scotland since the 16th century, often at New
Year. The Kirk Session records of Elgin name men and women who danced at
New Year 1623. Six men, described as guisers or "gwysseris" performed a
sword dance wearing masks and visors covering their faces in the
churchyard and in the courtyard of a house. They were each fined 40
shillings.[26]
A record of guising at Halloween in Scotland in
1895 describes masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of
scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and
money.[27] In Ireland, children in costumes would commonly say "Help the
Halloween Party" at the doors of homeowners.[4][28]
Halloween
masks are referred to as "false faces" in Ireland and Scotland.[29][30] A
writer using Scots language recorded guisers in Ayr, Scotland in 1890:
I had mind it was Halloween . . . the wee callans were at it already,
rinning aboot wi’ their fause-faces (false faces) on and their bits o’
turnip lanthrons (lanterns) in their haun (hand).[30]
Guising
also involved going to wealthy homes, and in the 1920s, boys went
guising at Halloween up to the affluent Thorntonhall, South
Lanarkshire.[31] An account of guising in the 1950s in Ardrossan, North
Ayrshire, records a child receiving 12 shillings and sixpence, having
knocked on doors throughout the neighbourhood and performed.[32] Growing
up in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1960s, The Guardian journalist
Michael Bradley recalls children asking, “Any nuts or apples?”.[33] In
Scotland and Ireland, the children are only supposed to receive treats
if they perform a party trick for the households they go to. This
normally takes the form of singing a song or reciting a joke or a funny
poem which the child has memorised before setting out.[32][20] While
going from door to door in disguise has remained popular among Scots and
Irish at Halloween, the North American saying "trick-or-treat" has
become common in the 2000s.[4][28]
Spread to North America
Girl in
a Halloween costume in 1928 in Ontario, Canada, the same province where
the Scottish Halloween custom of "guising" is first recorded in North
America
The earliest known occurrence of the practice of guising
at Halloween in North America is from 1911, when a newspaper in
Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported on children going "guising" around
the neighborhood.[3]
American historian and author Ruth Edna
Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the
holiday in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling
in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America"; "The taste in Hallowe'en
festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party,
using Burn's poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the
English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is
out of fashion now."[34] Kelley lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, a town
with 4,500 Irish immigrants, 1,900 English immigrants, and 700 Scottish
immigrants in 1920.[35] In her book, Kelley touches on customs that
arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are
making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its
best days overseas. All Hallowe'en customs in the United States are
borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".[36]
While
the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911,
another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown,
in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.[37]
The emergence of "Trick or treat!"
The
interjection "Trick or treat!" — a request for sweets or candy,
originally and sometimes still with the implication that anyone who is
asked and who does not provide sweets or other treats will be subjected
to a prank or practical joke — seems to have arisen in central Canada,
before spreading into the northern and western United States in the
1930s and across the rest of the United States through the 1940s and
early 1950s.[38] Initially it was often found in variant forms, such as
"tricks or treats," which was used in the earliest known case, a 1917
report in The Sault Daily Star in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario:[39]
Almost everywhere you went last night, particularly in the early part
of the evening, you would meet gangs of youngsters out to celebrate.
Some of them would have adopted various forms of "camouflage" such as
masks, or would appear in long trousers and big hats or with long
skirts. But others again didn't. . . . "Tricks or treats" you could hear
the gangs call out, and if the householder passed out the "coin" for
the "treats" his establishment would be immune from attack until another
gang came along that knew not of or had no part in the agreement.[40]
As
shown by word sleuth Barry Popik,[41] who also found the first use from
1917,[39] variant forms continued, with "trick or a treat" found in
Chatsworth, Ontario in 1921,[42] "treat up or tricks" and "treat or
tricks" found in Edmonton, Alberta in 1922,[43] and "treat or trick" in
Penhold, Alberta in 1924.[44] The now canonical form of "trick or treat"
was first seen in 1917 in Chatsworth, only one day after the Sault Ste.
Marie use,[45] but "tricks or treats" was still in use in the 1966
television special, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.[41]
The
thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the start of the 20th
century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict
trick-or-treating.[46] The editor of a collection of over 3,000 vintage
Halloween postcards writes, "There are cards which mention the custom
[of trick-or-treating] or show children in costumes at the doors, but as
far as we can tell they were printed later than the 1920s and more than
likely even the 1930s. Tricksters of various sorts are shown on the
early postcards, but not the means of appeasing them".[47]
Trick-or-treating
does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s,
with the first U.S. appearance of the term in 1932,[48] and the first
use in a national publication occurring in 1939.[49]
Behavior
similar to trick-or-treating was more commonly associated with
Thanksgiving from 1870 (shortly after that holiday's formalization)
until the 1930s. In New York City, a Thanksgiving ritual known as
Ragamuffin Day involved children dressing up as beggars and asking for
treats, which later evolved into dressing up in more diverse
costumes.[50][51] Increasing hostility toward the practice in the 1930s
eventually led to the begging aspects being dropped, and by the 1950s,
the tradition as a whole had ceased.
Increased popularity
Almost
all pre-1940 uses of the term "trick-or-treat" are from the United
States and Canada. Trick-or-treating spread throughout the United
States, stalled only by World War II sugar rationing that began in
April, 1942 and lasted until June, 1947.[52][53]
Magazine advertisement in 1962
Early
national attention to trick-or-treating was given in October, 1947
issues of the children's magazines Jack and Jill and Children's
Activities,[54] and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs
The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Show and The Adventures
of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948.[55] Trick-or-treating was depicted in the
Peanuts comic strip in 1951.[56] The custom had become firmly
established in popular culture by 1952, when Walt Disney portrayed it in
the cartoon Trick or Treat, and Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by
trick-or-treaters on an episode of their television show.[57] In 1953
UNICEF first conducted a national campaign for children to raise funds
for the charity while trick-or-treating.[58]
Although some
popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as
an adult invention to re-channel Halloween activities away from Mischief
Night vandalism, there are very few records supporting this. Des
Moines, Iowa is the only area known to have a record of
trick-or-treating being used to deter crime.[59] Elsewhere, adults, as
reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically
saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused
indulgence to anger.[60] Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children
would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and
not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for
Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City
carried a parade banner that read "American Boys Don't Beg."[61] The
National Confectioners Association reported in 2005 that 80 percent of
adults in the United States planned to give out confectionery to
trick-or-treaters,[62] and that 93 percent of children, teenagers, and
young adults planned to go trick-or-treating or participating in other
Halloween activities.[63]
Phrase introduction to the UK and Ireland
Despite
the concept of trick-or-treating originating in Britain and Ireland in
the form of souling and guising, the use of the term "trick or treat" at
the doors of homeowners was not common until the 1980s, with its
popularisation in part through the release of the film E.T.[64] Guising
requires those going door-to-door to perform a song or poem without any
jocular threat,[32] and according to one BBC journalist, in the 1980s,
"trick or treat" was still often viewed as an exotic and not
particularly welcome import, with the BBC referring to it as "the
Japanese knotweed of festivals" and "making demands with menaces".[65]
In Ireland before the phrase "trick or treat" became common in the
2000s, children would say "Help the Halloween Party".[4] Very often, the
phrase "trick or treat" is simply said and the revellers are given
sweets, with the choice of a trick or a treat having been discarded.
Etiquette
Two children trick-or-treating on Halloween in Arkansas, United States
Trick-or-treating
typically begins at dusk on October 31. Some municipalities choose
other dates.[66][67][68][69][70][71] Homeowners wishing to participate
sometimes decorate their homes with artificial spider webs, plastic
skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. Conversely, those who do not wish to
participate may turn off outside lights for the evening or lock relevant
gates and fences to keep people from coming onto their property.
In
most areas where trick-or-treating is practiced, it is considered an
activity for children. Some jurisdictions in the United States forbid
the activity for anyone over the age of 12.[72] Dressing up is common at
all ages; adults will often dress up to accompany their children, and
young adults may dress up to go out and ask for gifts for a charity.
Local variants
U.S. and Canada
Children
of the St. Louis, Missouri, area are expected to perform a joke,
usually a simple Halloween-themed pun or riddle, before receiving any
candy; this "trick" earns the "treat".[73] Children in Des Moines, Iowa
also tell jokes or otherwise perform before receiving their treat.
In
some parts of Canada, children sometimes say "Halloween apples" instead
of "trick or treat". This probably originated when the toffee apple was
a popular type of candy. Apple-giving in much of Canada, however, has
been taboo since the 1960s when stories (of almost certainly
questionable authenticity) appeared of razors hidden inside Halloween
apples; parents began to check over their children's fruit for safety
before allowing them to eat it. In Quebec, children also go door to door
on Halloween. However, in French-speaking neighbourhoods, instead of
"Trick or treat", they will simply say "Halloween", though it
traditionally used to be "La charité, s'il-vous-plaît" ("Charity,
please").[74]
Trunk-or-treat
Trunk-or-treating event held at St. John Lutheran Church & Early Learning Center in Darien, Illinois
Some
organizations around the United States and Canada sponsor a
"trunk-or-treat" on Halloween night (or, on occasion, a day immediately
preceding Halloween, or a few days from it, on a weekend, depending on
what is convenient). Trunk-or-treating is done from parked car to parked
car in a local parking lot, often at a school or church. The activity
makes use of the open trunks of the cars, which display candy, and often
games and decorations. Some parents regard trunk-or-treating as a safer
alternative to trick-or-treating,[75] while other parents see it as an
easier alternative to walking the neighborhood with their children.
This
annual event began in the mid-1990s as a "fall festival" for an
alternative to trick-or-treating, but became "trunk-or-treat" two
decades later. Some have called for more city or community
group-sponsored trunk-or-treats, so they can be more inclusive.[76] By
2006 these had become increasingly popular.[77]
Portugal
In
Portugal, children go from house to house in All Saints Day and All
Souls Day, carrying pumpkin carved lanterns called coca,[78] asking
everyone they see for Pão-por-Deus singing rhymes where they remind
people why they are begging, saying "...It is for me and for you, and to
give to the deceased who are dead and buried"[79] or "It is to share
with your deceased"[80] In the Azores the bread given to the children
takes the shape of the top of a skull.[81] The tradition of pão-por-Deus
was already recorded in the 15th century.[82]
Scandinavia
In
Sweden, children dress up as witches and monsters when they go
trick-or-treating on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) while
Danish children dress up in various attires and go trick-or-treating on
Fastelavn (or the next day, Shrove Monday). In Norway, the practice is
quite common among children, who come dressed up to people's doors
asking for, mainly, candy. The Easter witch tradition is done on Palm
Sunday in Finland (virvonta).
Europe
In parts of Flanders,
some parts of the Netherlands, and most areas of Germany, Switzerland,
and Austria, children go to houses with home-made beet lanterns or with
paper lanterns (which can hold a candle or electronic light), singing
songs about St. Martin on St. Martin's Day (the 11th of November), in
return for treats.[83] The equivalent of "trick-or-treat" in German
language is "Süßes oder Saures", asking for sweeties or threatening
something less pleasant.
In Northern Germany and Southern
Denmark, children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on New
Year's Eve in a tradition called "Rummelpott [de]".[84]
Trick-or-treat for charity
UNICEF
started a program in 1950 called Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF in which
trick-or-treaters ask people to give money for the organization, usually
instead of collecting candy. Participating trick-or-treaters say when
they knock at doors "Trick-or-treat for UNICEF!"[85] This program
started as an alternative to candy. The organization has long produced
disposable collection boxes that state on the back what the money can be
used for in developing countries.
In Canada, students from the
local high schools, colleges, and universities dress up to collect food
donations for the local Food Banks as a form of trick-or-treating. This
is sometimes called "Trick-or-Eat"." (wikipedia.org)
"Biscuit tins are utilitarian or decorative containers used to package and sell biscuits (such as those served during tea) and some confectionery. Invented by Huntley & Palmers in 1831,[1] they are commonly found in households in Great Britain, Ireland, and Commonwealth countries,[2] but also in continental Europe and French Canada. Popularity in the United States and English Canada spread later in the 20th century. Over 60% of UK households own a biscuit tin.[3]
Because of their attractive appearance, biscuit tins have often been used by charities and by some visitor attractions as fundraising devices since many customers will happily pay more for a tin of biscuits than it is worth.[4][5]
History
Biscuit tins are steel cans[6] made of tin plate. This consists of steel sheets thinly coated with tin. The sheets are then bent to shape. By about 1850, Great Britain had become the dominant world supplier of tin plate, through a combination of technical innovation and political control over most of the suppliers of tin ore. Biscuit tin manufacture was a small but prestigious part of the vast industry of tin plate production, which saw a huge increase in demand in the 19th century was directly related to the growing industrialisation of food production, by increasingly sophisticated methods of preservation and the requirements made by changing methods of distribution.
The British biscuit tin came about when the Licensed Grocer's Act 1861[dubious – discuss] allowed groceries to be individually packaged and sold. Coinciding with the removal of the duty on paper for printed labels, printing directly on to tinplate became common. The new process of offset lithography, patented in 1877, allowed multicoloured designs to be printed onto elaborately shaped tins.
Biscuit tin "Kashmir" in the shape of a small Indian table by Huntley & Palmers, dated 1904
The decorative biscuit tin was invented by Huntley & Palmers in 1831.[1] A decorated biscuit tin was commissioned in 1868 by Huntley & Palmers from the London firm of De La Rue to a design by Owen Jones. Early methods of printing included the transfer process (essentially the method used to decorate porcelain and pottery since about 1750) and the direct lithographic process, which involved laying an inked stone directly on to a sheet of tin. Its disadvantage was that correct colour registration was difficult. The breakthrough in decorative tin plate production was the invention of the offset lithographic process. It consists of bringing a sheet of rubber into contact with the decorated stone, and then setting-off the impression so obtained upon the metal surface. The advantages over previous methods of printing were that any number of colours could be used, correctly positioned, and applied to an uneven surface if necessary. Thus the elaborately embossed, colourful designs that were such a feature of the late Victorian biscuit tin industry became technically possible.
The most exotic designs were produced in the early years of the 20th century, just prior to the First World War. In the 1920s and 1930s, costs had risen substantially and the design of biscuit tins tended to be more conservative, with the exception of the tins targeted at the Christmas market and intended to appeal primarily to children. The designs generally reflected popular interests and tastes.
The advent of the Second World War stopped all production of decorative tin ware and after it ended in 1945, the custom did not enjoy the same popularity as before.
Vintage biscuit tins can be found in various museums and on the market have become collector items.
Works of art for the home
Biscuit tin in the shape of a Chinese vase by Huntley & Palmer
Biscuit tins have always been more than just containers. The manufacturers aimed to make products which would be enjoyed beyond the life span of the biscuits themselves.
Tins shaped like actual objects began to be made in the late 1890s. The earlier tins were shaped like baskets but gradually a whole range of fine art objects appeared. Biscuit tins were no longer aimed merely at children at the Christmas market. They had become useful and decorative parts of the middle class home.
Replicas of Chinese vases could be used as such when the biscuits had been eaten. Boxes imitating porcelain, Wedgwood china or fine wooden boxes mimicked the wonderful objects found in grand houses or in museums.
The First World War saw a break in the supply of decorated biscuit tins. Many manufacturers hesitated to resume production of "fancy" tins once the restrictions had been lifted. Children however had a strong influence on the market and ensured the survival of well designed, elaborately shaped tins.
Shop biscuit tins
British biscuit manufacturers supplied grocer's shops with biscuits packed into large tins, typically containing seven pounds (3.2 kilogrammes). These would be displayed in the shop, and the shopkeeper would weigh out the required amount of biscuits into a paper bag for each customer. Some tins had a glass panel in the lid, so that customers could see the biscuits inside." (wikipedia.org)
"A tin box is a tinplate container. Tinplate metal is primarily steel with a very thin tin coating. Tin-free steel is also used. In some cultures, these boxes or cans are referred to as "tin boxes" or sometimes even "tins". Many “tin boxes” have hinged or removable lids or covers. Some people collect tin boxes as a hobby.
Cans
Main article: biscuit tin
These tinplate cans[2] are often used to package breath mints, throat lozenges, instant coffee, biscuits and holiday treats. Highly decorated "holiday tins" are sold during the holiday season and are popular gifts,[3] and often contain cookies, candy, or popcorn. Similar festive containers are used in Europe for sweets, biscuits, cakes and chocolates, mainly during Christmas, rather than in the summer holidays and in countries with British associations, they are usually called "biscuit tins". In Denmark, butter cookies in tins are produced and sold there, and are also exported to other countries.[4] These types of smaller tin boxes are sometimes reused to store items, or to create kits, such as a survival kit.[5] A hobby involves modifying tin boxes with decorations and embellishments.[6]
A cigar tin box
A cigar tin box
A bouillon cube tin can
A bouillon cube tin can
A gingerbread container
A gingerbread container
A coffee or tea container
A coffee or tea container
Display box with tinplate cans of mooncakes
Display box with tinplate cans of mooncakes
Construction
Some types of metal tins or cans have hinged covers; Others cans have removable interference fit covers or lids.[7] The lid, which sometimes is hinged to the body of the container, is often held in place when closed by friction. In other cases, two protruding lugs can pass each other only when the lid and the rest of the box are deformed slightly: pressure from the user's hands is sufficient to produce this deformation, while the parts resist this somewhat, and are flexible enough to recover their normal shape when released.
Collecting
Some people collect these types of tin boxes. For example, Yvette Dardenne in Belgium has amassed a collection of approximately 56,800 tin boxes over two decades.[8]
Boxes
Several types of tinplate metal boxes are produced.
A metal toolbox
A metal toolbox
A tinplate ammunition box
A tinplate ammunition box
A painted tinplate box used in construction as a junction box
A painted tinplate box used in construction as a junction box
Gift Boxes
Some companies also use tinplate to make gift cans and boxes, like Candle tin, Coin bank, Christmas tin box, Easter egg tin etc.
Trunks
Large decorated tin trunks
Trunks and chests are sometimes constructed of tinplate. These large boxes often have a hinged top cover and are sometimes highly decorated." (wikipedia.org)
"Russell Berrie (1933-2002), the Bronx-born son of a jewelry salesman, was the chairman and CEO of Russ Berrie & Company, which he started in a tiny rented garage and grew into a $300 million business that revolutionized the way gifts and greeting cards are sold worldwide.
For all of his professional accomplishments, Russ believed that, as he put it, “There is nothing more important in life than helping a fellow human being.” In 1985, Russ created the Russell Berrie Foundation, which quickly distinguished itself for its entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy.
Russ saw his grants as social investments. He sought out passionate, energetic leaders with a sense of urgency around their missions.
Using the keen understanding of people that made him a brilliant salesman, Russ identified innovators working to make a difference in the areas closest to his heart, and bolstered them with the financial and strategic support crucial to success. In 1998, Fortune Magazine identified Russ as one of the 40 most most generous Americans.
“Russ had an amazing capacity to both envision the world as it could be, and figure out how to collaborate with others to make it so,” said Angelica Berrie, his wife and the president of the Russell Berrie Foundation. “Giving is not just about writing a check. It is a relationship between those who have the means to touch people’s lives and the causes that inspire their generosity.”
Early Life
Russell Berrie grew up in the East Bronx, the youngest of three sons born to Naomi and Nathan Berrie. He traced his early ambitions to memories of sitting around the table at night, feeling left out as his father, a jewelry salesman, and brothers talked business.
“I wanted very badly to be a success and to show my father and my brothers that I could do as well as they could,” he recalled.
When he was 10, he launched his first entrepreneurial venture, collecting discarded scorecards after games at Yankee Stadium. He would take the scorecards home, clean them up and sell them at the next day’s game.
When Russ was 17, his father sent him out selling door-to-door to retailers.
“I wasn’t too successful, but when I met with Dad at lunch time, he told me about a big department store he’d been trying to sell to for years without success, and he suggested that I go and try to sell to them,” Russ recalled. “I ended up writing an order for $1,000 and was absolutely thrilled. Years later, I discovered that Dad had set the ‘sale’ up with the buyer beforehand because he knew it would help build my confidence.”
Businessman
Russ landed his first full-time job in 1956, as a salesman for a toy company. As he got to know the business, he identified a growth opportunity in the market for impulse gifts — inexpensive trinkets that shoppers might buy on a whim, after seeing them displayed on a shelf or near the check-out line. When Russ’s bosses declined to pursue his ideas, he struck out on his own, starting Russ Berrie & Company in a rented garage in Palisades Park, New Jersey, in 1963.
From the start, Russ Berrie & Company produced a string of hit products that quickly found their way onto countertops, desks and dashboards across the country. Among the company’s earliest creations: Fuzzy Wuzzies (tiny fur ball-like critters bearing messages like “You’re My Best Friend” or “Wild Thing”), troll dolls (squat gnomes with plumes of brightly colored hair) and the Bupkis Family (a motley collection of endearingly ugly rubber figurines). In 1966, annual sales revenue exceeded $1 million.
By 2001, the year before his death, Russ presided over a company that was known throughout the world by its nickname, RUSS, its slogan, “Make Someone Happy,” and its must-have products, from plush teddy bears to the resurgent troll dolls. Sales revenue topped $285 million that year, Forbes named the business as one of the top 200 small companies in America, and GiftWare Business magazine and Giftbeat ranked RUSS creations number one in seven product categories.
To get there, the company and its leader overcame monumental challenges. In the 1970s, the company began manufacturing its own products, an unwieldy operation that brought it to the brink of bankruptcy.
“I made a big error in trying to think that I was a manufacturer when I clearly was a sales and marketing person,” Russ recalled. “I had taken my eye off the ball.”
Russ quickly corrected course, selling off his factories by 1977. He considered the episode crucial to his development as a businessman.
“You cannot build a business without confronting challenges, surprises and disappointments along the way,” he said. “It is how you react to these challenges that determine success.”
Approach to Philanthropy
Russ believed in the power of “transformational giving,” partnering with energetic, visionary leaders to change the world for the better. He took an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy, using his keen interpersonal skills to identify people and causes in which to invest and working closely with partners to hone strategies and set expectations.
His philanthropy evolved over the years, beginning with a $500 check to the United Jewish Appeal in the earliest days of Russ Berrie & Company and growing to include an expansive roster of leaders and institutions working in areas he considered critical, including health care and culture. In 1997, the Russell Berrie Foundation made its largest gift to date: a $13.5 million grant to create the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University, a world-class diabetes facility with an ongoing relationship to our foundation.
That same year, Russ gave $100,000 to the first recipients of the Making a Difference Award, which has since become one of the foundation’s signature initiatives. Each year, exceptional New Jersey volunteers are publicly recognized for their achievements, receiving not only monetary awards as high as $50,000 but a treasured moment in the spotlight.
“It’s another way of looking at philanthropy — inspiring people to look at themselves and what they can do for the community,” Russ explained to The New York Times when the inaugural awards were announced. “I wanted to honor outstanding people — just common folks, not great scientists or people of great wealth. It’s one thing to write a check. It’s something else for people who work really hard and spend a lifetime giving up a lot of themselves.”
“People don’t realize how much power each one of us has,” he continued. “It doesn’t have to be money; it could be the teacher who paid extra attention. Let’s help each other. The more we do that, the less we’ll be at each other’s throats.”" (russelberriefoundation)
"Russ Berrie & Company, Inc. sells a wide variety of gift items, including stuffed animals, mugs, picture frames, figurines, greeting cards, and stationery, through retailers located around the world. The company has grown and prospered by appealing to the impulses of shoppers, seeking always to offer fresh merchandise, which reflects current trends and fads. Founded by a New Jersey toy salesman, the company saw its sales escalate dramatically after it went public in the early 1980s and began to acquire other gift makers.
The company that bears Russ Berne’s name was founded in 1963. Berrie himself had always had entrepreneurial leanings. As a child in the East Bronx he worked delivering Sunday newspapers, and selling scorecards at baseball games. After attending the University of Florida, Berrie worked as a salesman and as a manufacturer’s representative, and in 1963, he decided to strike out on his own. With $500, he rented a garage in Palisades Park, New Jersey, and launched his own firm, named after himself. Berrie intended to design, market, and distribute “impulse” gift items.
Berrie believed that the market for impulse gift market was ripe for expansion. Impulse gifts, items that shoppers did not seek specifically but noticed while in a store and purchased on a whim, were designed to be affordable andevoke an emotional response in the shopper. The classic impulse gift was an object such as a stuffed animal, a mug, or a cute figurine found in a gift and card store. Demand for these items had been growing in the early 1960s, and Berrie believed that they could be sold in all sorts of retail outlets, not just stationery and gift stores.
Berrie also chose this field because he felt that his experience in the toy industry would serve him well. He knew which products sold well, and, through the contacts he had made, was able to purchase his merchandise directly from manufacturers. In his first year of business, Berrie himself was Russ Berrie and Company’s sole employee. He handled all tasks, from selling products, to putting them in packages, to typing up invoices. At the end of the year, he had racked up $60,000 in sales.
In 1964, Berrie created his first line of manufactured novelty items. Working with a designer, he came up with a line of stuffed animals and dubbed them “Fuzzy Wuzzies.” In the following year, he supplemented the Fuzzy Wuzzie franchise with the “Bupkis Family,” a group of soft, rubbery dolls. On the basis of the popularity of these products, sales for Russ Berrie & Company continued to grow throughout the company’s first two years.
In 1966, Berrie formally incorporated his enterprise. Also that year, the company moved locations, trading up to a larger facility in Palisades Park, New Jersey, and adding to its work force. In 1968, as the company shifted quarters again, moving to Elmwood Park, New Jersey, Berrie introduced Sillisculpts, small statues with messages inscribed on them, and these, too, became popular sellers.
Berrie used the capital generated by sales of his first three product lines to finance further expansion of the company. Among his chief goals was the creation of a national sales force to sell his products to retailers. In 1968, the company hired its first full–time salesperson. This step allowed Russ Berrie & Company to promote its own products, rather than rely on manufacturers’ representatives, who carried the goods of a several different firms.
In 1971, as sales passed the $7 million mark, Russ Berrie & Company moved again, to a new corporate headquarters facility in Oakland, New Jersey. This location would become the center of the company’s worldwide marketing and distribution businesses. In the following year, Russ Berrie & Company opened a second new facility, when a distribution center, in Santa Rosa, California, came on line. This was the first of a planned network of regional centers, each designed to fulfill warehousing, order processing, customer service, credit, and collections functions for accounts in a separate part of the country.
For its first ten years in business, Russ Berrie & Company concentrated on creating and designing its own products, and then contracted with manufacturers in the United States and abroad to produce them. Key to the company’s success was the maintenance of a steady flow of ever–changing merchandise. Stores that sold Russ Berrie products needed a constant stream of seasonal, holiday, and everyday items to continually appeal to customers. In order to create these products and ensure that they tapped into current trends, Berrie inaugurated a product development department.
By 1973, however, dealings with manufacturers in Asia had become difficult, and Berrie decided to have his company take over the manufacturing of its products. Over the course of the next two years, the company purchased several manufacturing facilities, adding a stuffed animal factory in California, an injection molding factory in Florida, and another factory in Haiti. In addition, the company established a plastics factory in New Jersey and acquired a second plant in Florida. By 1977, Russ Berrie & Company had become a diversified producer and marketer of novelty goods, with a large number of different operations being run under the company’s umbrella.
Such dramatic expansion in Russ Berrie & Company’s activities, however, presented problems, as the company had, according to some critics, lost its focus. Berrie’s expertise lay in sales and marketing, and he made sure to offer a wide variety of carefully selected products. As a manufacturer, however, Russ Berrie & Company was forced to abandon careful selection of products to market, in favor of keeping the machines in its factories running. As a result of its rapid expansion into manufacturing, Russ Berrie & Company found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. When Berrie realized that what his company did best was come up with ideas for novelty items, and market and sell them, not actually manufacture them, the company decided to withdraw from the production end of its business. In the mid–1970s, it began to shut down and sell off its factories.
Following this decision, Berrie flew to the Far East and began to put into place structures for the manufacture of Russ Berrie products by others. In 1977, in Korea, the company set up the first of several satellite offices it would eventually open to facilitate production. Employees in this office were responsible for keeping tabs on items being manufactured for Russ Berrie & Company in the Far East. In this way, by hiring its own direct employees, the company hoped to avoid the difficulties of dealing with agents. Two years later, a second office, in Taiwan, was opened. Workers there oversaw the production of Russ Berrie goods in Taiwan and also took part in product development, helping to produce seasonal catalogues.
Also in 1979, Russ Berrie & Company established a subsidiary in the United Kingdom to serve customers there, as well as in the wider European market. The company set up a distribution center in Southhampton, England, which had a sales and support staff mirroring that of the company’s American operations. With time, this facility was replaced with a larger one and distribution was expanded to cover Ireland, Holland, and Belgium. Russ Berrie & Company also set up agreements with independent distributors in other countries throughout Europe, guaranteeing that its products would achieve wide penetration of this market.
In the early 1980s, Russ Berrie & Company’s sales continued to grow, and the company continued to expand its line of products. In fact, in 1982, the company was listed as one of the 500 fastest growing privately held firms in the United States by Inc. magazine. At this time, Russ Berrie & Company’s sales force had grown to include 200 people. In a reorganization of company activities, the firm split its operations into two units: Plush & Stuff, which sold stuffed animals, fabric dolls, and other soft items; and Gift/Expression, which was responsible for figurines, picture frames, greeting cards, magnets, mugs, and holiday ornaments and designs. With this new structure, each retail account was serviced by two salespeople, one from each division. In order to make this possible, Russ Berrie & Company hired a large number of new salespeople, doubling the size of its domestic sales force.
By 1983, annual sales of Russ Berrie & Company products had exceeded $100 million. To keep track of the increased volume of products, the company installed a new computer system to oversee inventory and sales. Moreover, the company’s MIS department was created for providing accurate data to managers, so that they could make decisions about which merchandise to select or discontinue.
Also in 1983, Russ Berrie & Company opened its Tri Russ International office in Hong Kong. Employees at this location were responsible for overseeing manufacturing in Hong Kong and also for providing sales and product support to all Russ Berrie & Company distributors around the world who did not have their own direct sales representative.
In 1984, Russ Berrie & Company sold stock to the public for the first time, as it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In the wake of this move, sales of the company’s products started to grow rapidly. As a sign of this growth, Russ Berrie & Company opened two new warehouses to distribute its goods. One, in South Brunswick, New Jersey, serviced the eastern part of the United States. Another, in Petaluma, California, was designed to help move products from the Far East to other locations within the country most efficiently. Together, these two new facilities boasted 700,000 square feet of space, making the company’s worldwide total of property owned more than 1.5 million square feet of space.
By 1985, Russ Berrie & Company sales had reached $204.6 million, and revenues more than doubled in just two years. At this time, the company embarked upon a program of rapid growth through acquisitions. In that year, Russ Berrie & Company bought Amram’s Distributing Limited, which already functioned as the distributor for the company’s products in Canada. Under the umbrella of the parent company, Amram’s quickly expanded, until it had more than 60 salespeople peddling Russ Berrie & Company products to over 6,300 retailers.
The following year, the company purchased two more firms in its industry: Freelance, Inc. and the Effanbee Doll Company. In 1987, the company also bought Phil Papel Imports, Inc. The Freelance and Papel operations were amalgamated into one subsidiary, called Papel/Freelance, which was served by more than 100 salespeople. This division of the company distributed seasonal and everyday gifts, and was particularly well known for its beverage mugs. More than 20,00 retailers sold these goods throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Also in 1987, Russ Berrie & Company entered the retail business for the first time, when it bought Fluf N’stuf, a chain of 21 gift stores. Fluf N’stuf outlets were located in regional malls throughout the East Coast of the United States. In this way, Russ Berrie & Company was able not only to sell its own goods, but to get an accurate picture of where demand for gift items was moving.
Also in 1987, Russ Berrie & Company became a licensee of the National Football League, with the right to sell products marked with the insignia of various NFL teams. At the end of the year, the company was given an award for its high sales of NFL products. Later, the company also began to market Major League Baseball merchandise.
As a result of its steady expansion through acquisition, Russ Berrie & Company reported pre–tax profits of $56 million in 1987. This figure was also enhanced by a boom in the demand for stuffed animals. The following year, however, the market for stuffed animals crashed, as the fad passed, and Russ Berrie & Company’s profits plummeted to $23 million. Consequently, the price of the company’s stock fell as well.
In the late 1980s, the company opened additional manufacturing supervision offices in Indonesia and Thailand, as these areas became locations of production for the company. In addition, Russ Berrie & Company expanded its distribution to areas of the former Soviet Union after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In time, its products and dolls were even featured in the Moscow airport gift shop.
Russ Berrie & Company continued its expansion through the acquisition in the early 1990s. In 1991, the company bought Bright of America, which produced place mats and stationary products sold primarily through big mass marketers, such as Wal–Mart and Kmart. In the wake of this purchase, Russ Berrie & Company began to utilize this company’s manufacturing facility, located in West Virginia, to manufacture greeting cards and other paper products. Bright also ran a school fund–raising operation, in which schools purchased gift items for the students to resell in order to earn money for clubs and trips. During this time, Russ Berrie & Company also bought Weaver Werks, another gift producer, which specialized in popular and trendy items, such as cleverly packaged jelly beans and candy. The products of this subsidiary were added to the company’s Papel/Freelance division.
In 1992, Russ Berrie & Company’s fortunes got a lift, when the popularity of one of its oldest products, Trolls, first introduced in the 1960s, escalated dramatically. Although they had not been a big seller for many years, suddenly the company’s trolls—squishy dolls with rubbery faces and hair that stood on end—were experiencing wild demand. To meet this clamor, Russ Berry & Company’s designers began to churn out hundreds of different troll products, and the company’s Far Eastern suppliers raced to keep output high. By the end of the year, pushed by the troll fad, the company’s earnings had soared to $300 million.
Flush with this success, Russ Berrie & Company expanded its product line even further in 1993, when it purchased Cap Toys, Inc., a Cleveland distributor of toys and candies. With this move, the company hoped to diversify its activities. Cap Toy products included the Stretch Armstrong and Spin Pops candies, which were supported through heavy advertising and were sold through many large retailers. With the addition of these products, the company’s product line grew to more than 8,000. With a strong record of success over the previous three decades and a solid franchise in the gift market, the company seemed assured of continued success as it moved into the late 1990s.
Principal Subsidiaries
Amram’s Distributing, Limited (Canada); Bright of America, Inc.; Cap Toys, Inc.; Fluf N’stuf, Inc.; Papel/Freelance, Inc.; Russ Berrie, Limited (UK); Tri Russ International, Limited (Hong Kong)....Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., sells a wide variety of gift items, including stuffed animals, mugs, picture frames, figurines, and various home accessories through retailers located around the world. The company's brands include RUSS, Applause, Sassy, and Kids Line. Founded by a New Jersey toy salesman, the company saw its sales escalate dramatically after it went public in the early 1980s and began to acquire other gift makers. This growth through acquisition policy continued into the early years of the new millennium.
ORIGINS
The company that bears Russ Berrie's name was founded in 1963. Berrie himself had always had entrepreneurial leanings. As a child in the East Bronx he worked delivering Sunday newspapers and selling scorecards at baseball games. After attending the University of Florida, Berrie worked as a salesman and as a manufacturer's representative, and in 1963, he decided to strike out on his own. With $500, he rented a garage in Palisades Park, New Jersey, and launched his own firm, named after himself. Berrie intended to design, market, and distribute "impulse" gift items.
Berrie believed that the market for impulse gifts was ripe for expansion. Impulse gifts, items that shoppers did not seek specifically but noticed while in a store and purchased on a whim, were designed to be affordable and evoke an emotional response in the shopper. The classic impulse gift was an object such as a stuffed animal, a mug, or a cute figurine found in a gift and card store. Demand for these items had been growing in the early 1960s, and Berrie believed that they could be sold in all sorts of retail outlets, not just stationery and gift stores.
Berrie also chose this field because he felt that his experience in the toy industry would serve him well. He knew which products sold well and, through the contacts he had made, was able to purchase his merchandise directly from manufacturers. In his first year of business, Berrie himself was Russ Berrie and Company's sole employee. He handled all tasks, from selling products, to putting them in packages, to typing up invoices. At the end of the year, he had racked up $60,000 in sales.
In 1964, Berrie created his first line of manufactured novelty items. Working with a designer, he came up with a line of stuffed animals and dubbed them "Fuzzy Wuzzies." In the following year, he supplemented the Fuzzy Wuzzie franchise with the "Bupkis Family," a group of soft, rubbery dolls. On the basis of the popularity of these products, sales for Russ Berrie and Company continued to grow throughout the company's first two years.
In 1966, Berrie formally incorporated his enterprise. Also that year, the company moved locations, trading up to a larger facility in Palisades Park, New Jersey, and adding to its workforce. In 1968, as the company shifted quarters again, moving to Elmwood Park, New Jersey, Berrie introduced Sillisculpts, small statues with messages inscribed on them, and these, too, became popular sellers.
EXPANSION
Berrie used the capital generated by sales of his first three product lines to finance further expansion of the company. Among his chief goals was the creation of a national sales force to sell his products to retailers. In 1968, the company hired its first full-time salesperson. This step allowed Russ Berrie & Company to promote its own products, rather than rely on manufacturers' representatives, who carried the goods of several different firms.
In 1971, as sales passed the $7 million mark, Russ Berrie and Company moved again, to a new corporate headquarters facility in Oakland, New Jersey. This location would become the center of the company's worldwide marketing and distribution businesses. In the following year, Russ Berrie and Company opened a second new facility, when a distribution center, in Santa Rosa, California, came on line. This was the first of a planned network of regional centers, each designed to fulfill warehousing, order processing, customer service, credit, and collections functions for accounts in a separate part of the country.
For its first ten years in business, Russ Berrie and Company concentrated on creating and designing its own products, and then contracted with manufacturers in the United States and abroad to produce them. Key to the company's success was the maintenance of a steady flow of ever-changing merchandise. Stores that sold Russ Berrie products needed a constant stream of seasonal, holiday, and everyday items to continually appeal to customers. In order to create these products and ensure that they tapped into current trends, Berrie inaugurated a product development department.
By 1973, however, dealings with manufacturers in Asia had become difficult, and Berrie decided to have his company take over the manufacturing of its products. Over the course of the next two years, the company purchased several manufacturing facilities, adding a stuffed animal factory in California, an injection molding factory in Florida, and another factory in Haiti. In addition, the company established a plastics factory in New Jersey and acquired a second plant in Florida. By 1977, Russ Berrie and Company had become a diversified producer and marketer of novelty goods, with a large number of different operations being run under the company's umbrella.
Such dramatic expansion in Russ Berrie and Company's activities, however, presented problems, as the company had, according to some critics, lost its focus. Berrie's expertise lay in sales and marketing, and he made sure to offer a wide variety of carefully selected products. As a manufacturer, however, Russ Berrie and Company was forced to abandon careful selection of products to market, in favor of keeping the machines in its factories running. As a result of its rapid expansion into manufacturing, Russ Berrie and Company found itself on the brink of bankruptcy. When Berrie realized that what his company did best was come up with ideas for novelty items, and market and sell them, not actually manufacture them, the company decided to withdraw from the production end of its business. In the mid-1970s, it began to shut down and sell its factories.
COMPANY PERSPECTIVES
Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., creates smiles all over the world. A leader in the gift and juvenile products industry, we design, develop, and distribute innovative products that help people celebrate and commemorate milestones in their lives. From pre-natal to post-grad, infant to senior, the RUSS brand touches people, igniting smiles along the way.
Following this decision, Berrie flew to the Far East and began to put into place structures for the manufacture of Russ Berrie products by others. In 1977, in Korea, the company set up the first of several satellite offices it would eventually open to facilitate production. Employees in this office were responsible for keeping tabs on items being manufactured for Russ Berrie and Company in the Far East. In this way, by hiring its own direct employees, the company hoped to avoid the difficulties of dealing with agents. Two years later, a second office, in Taiwan, was opened. Workers there oversaw the production of Russ Berrie goods in Taiwan and also took part in product development, helping to produce seasonal catalogues.
Also in 1979, Russ Berrie and Company established a subsidiary in the United Kingdom to serve customers there, as well as in the wider European market. The company set up a distribution center in Southhampton, England, which had a sales and support staff mirroring that of the company's American operations. With time, this facility was replaced with a larger one and distribution was expanded to cover Ireland, Holland, and Belgium. Russ Berrie and Company also set up agreements with independent distributors in other countries throughout Europe, guaranteeing that its products would achieve wide penetration of this market.
CONTINUING GROWTH
In the early 1980s, Russ Berrie and Company's sales continued to grow, and the company continued to expand its line of products. In fact, in 1982, the company was listed as one of the 500 fastest growing privately held firms in the United States by Inc. magazine. At this time, Russ Berrie and Company's sales force had grown to include 200 people. In a reorganization of company activities, the firm split its operations into two units: Plush & Stuff, which sold stuffed animals, fabric dolls, and other soft items; and Gift/Expression, which was responsible for figurines, picture frames, greeting cards, magnets, mugs, and holiday ornaments and designs. With this new structure, each retail account was serviced by two salespeople, one from each division. In order to make this possible, Russ Berrie and Company hired a large number of new salespeople, doubling the size of its domestic salesforce.
By 1983, annual sales of Russ Berrie and Company products had exceeded $100 million. To keep track of the increased volume of products, the company installed a new computer system to oversee inventory and sales. Moreover, the company's MIS department was created for providing accurate data to managers, so that they could make decisions about which merchandise to select or discontinue.
Also in 1983, Russ Berrie and Company opened its Tri Russ International office in Hong Kong. Employees at this location were responsible for overseeing manufacturing in Hong Kong and also for providing sales and product support to all Russ Berrie and Company distributors around the world who did not have their own direct sales representative.
In 1984, Russ Berrie and Company sold stock to the public for the first time, as it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In the wake of this move, sales of the company's products started to grow rapidly. As a sign of this growth, Russ Berrie and Company opened two new warehouses to distribute its goods. One, in South Brunswick, New Jersey, serviced the eastern part of the United States. Another, in Petaluma, California, was designed to help move products from the Far East to other locations within the country most efficiently. Together, these two new facilities boasted 700,000 square feet of space, making the company's worldwide total of property owned more than 1.5 million square feet of space.
By 1985, Russ Berrie and Company sales had reached $204.6 million, and revenues more than doubled in just two years. At this time, the company embarked upon a program of rapid growth through acquisitions. In that year, Russ Berrie and Company bought Amram's Distributing Limited, which already functioned as the distributor for the company's products in Canada. Under the umbrella of the parent company, Amram's quickly expanded, until it had more than 60 salespeople peddling Russ Berrie and Company products to more than 6,300 retailers.
KEY DATES
1963:
The company that bears Russ Berrie's name is founded.
1964:
Berrie creates his first line of manufactured novelty items—Fuzzy Wuzzies.
1966:
Berrie incorporates.
1968:
The company hires its first full-time salesperson.
1979:
Russ Berrie and Company establishes a subsidiary in the United Kingdom.
1984:
The company goes public.
1985:
Amram's Distributing Limited is acquired.
1987:
Russ Berrie and Company enters the retail business for the first time when it buys the Fluf N'Stuf chain of 21 gift stores.
1992:
The popularity of Trolls, one of the company's oldest products, escalates dramatically.
1996:
Papel/Freelance is sold.
2002:
Founder Russ Berrie dies; Sassy Inc. is acquired.
2004:
The company purchases the Applause trademark.
The following year, the company purchased two more firms in its industry: Freelance, Inc., and the Effanbee Doll Company. In 1987, the company also bought Phil Papel Imports, Inc. The Freelance and Papel operations were amalgamated into one subsidiary, called Papel/Freelance, which was served by more than 100 salespeople. This division of the company distributed seasonal and everyday gifts, and was particularly well known for its beverage mugs. More than 20,000 retailers sold these goods throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Also in 1987, Russ Berrie and Company entered the retail business for the first time, when it bought Fluf N'Stuf, a chain of 21 gift stores. Fluf N'Stuf outlets were located in regional malls throughout the East Coast of the United States. In this way, Russ Berrie and Company was able not only to sell its own goods, but to get an accurate picture of where demand for gift items was moving.
Also in 1987, Russ Berrie and Company became a licensee of the National Football League, with the right to sell products marked with the insignia of various NFL teams. At the end of the year, the company was given an award for its high sales of NFL products. Later, the company also began to market Major League Baseball merchandise.
As a result of its steady expansion through acquisition, Russ Berrie and Company reported pretax profits of $56 million in 1987. This figure was also enhanced by a boom in the demand for stuffed animals. The following year, however, the market for stuffed animals crashed, as the fad passed, and Russ Berrie and Company's profits plummeted to $23 million. Consequently, the price of the company's stock fell as well.
In the late 1980s, the company opened additional manufacturing supervision offices in Indonesia and Thailand, as these areas became locations of production for the company. In addition, Russ Berrie and Company expanded its distribution to areas of the former Soviet Union after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In time, its products and dolls were even featured in the Moscow airport gift shop.
NEW ACQUISITIONS
Russ Berrie and Company continued its expansion through acquisition in the early 1990s. In 1991, the company bought Bright of America, which produced place mats and stationery products sold primarily through big mass marketers, such as Wal-Mart and Kmart. In the wake of this purchase, Russ Berrie and Company began to utilize this company's manufacturing facility, located in West Virginia, to manufacture greeting cards and other paper products. Bright also ran a school fund-raising operation, in which schools purchased gift items for the students to resell in order to earn money for clubs and trips. During this time, Russ Berrie and Company also bought Weaver Werks, another gift producer, which specialized in popular and trendy items, such as cleverly packaged jelly beans and candy. The products of this subsidiary were added to the company's Papel/Freelance division.
In 1992, Russ Berrie and Company's fortunes got a lift, when the popularity of one of its oldest products, Trolls, first introduced in the 1960s, escalated dramatically. Although they had not been a big seller for many years, suddenly the company's trolls—squishy dolls with rubbery faces and hair that stood on end—were experiencing wild demand. To meet this clamor, Russ Berrie and Company's designers began to churn out hundreds of different troll products, and the company's Far Eastern suppliers raced to keep output high. By the end of the year, pushed by the troll fad, the company's earnings had soared to $300 million.
Flush with this success, Russ Berrie and Company expanded its product line even further in 1993, when it purchased Cap Toys, Inc., a Cleveland distributor of toys and candies. With this move, the company hoped to diversify its activities. Cap Toy products included the Stretch Armstrong and Spin Pops candies, which were supported through heavy advertising and were sold through many large retailers. With the addition of these products, the company's product line grew to more than 8,000. In 1994, OddzOn Products Inc. was acquired. With a strong record of success over the previous three decades and a solid franchise in the gift market, the company seemed assured of continued success as it moved into the late 1990s.
1995 AND BEYOND
With gift item sales on the rise, Russ Berrie and Company decided to sell its Papel/Freelance unit in order to focus on its core business in 1996. It also sold Cap Toys and OddzOn Products the following year. The cash from these sales would allow funding for future acquisitions. The company expanded its foothold in several international markets during this time period as well. Showrooms were opened in Hong Kong and South America and direct sales forces began selling Russ Berrie products in Germany and Spain. In 1999, Russ Australia Pty. Ltd. was formed in Sydney, Australia. That year the company adopted a new advertising slogan—"Make someone happy".
The company made several key purchases in the early years of the new millennium. In 2002, Russ Berrie and Company added Sassy Inc. to its arsenal in a $45 million deal. The addition of Sassy, a Michigan-based designer and manufacturer of baby and juvenile products, was expected to fuel future growth. It also launched its home and garden subsidiary that year. In 2004, the company acquired the rights to use the Applause Inc. trademark. Later that year, it purchased Kids Line L.L.C., a designer and distributor of juvenile bedding products, and sold its Bright of America subsidiary.
In December 2002, founder, chairman, and CEO Russ Berrie died unexpectedly after having a heart attack in his home. Often named by Fortune magazine as one of America's most generous philanthropists, Berrie was just 69 years old when he died. Josh Weston was named chairman and Berrie's widow, Angelica Berrie, took over as CEO. She stepped down in 2004 when former Toys 'R' Us executive Andrew Gatto assumed the position.
At the time of Gatto's arrival, Russ Berrie and Company stood well positioned with no debt and more than $60 million in free cash even as independent gift stores were seeing sales falter amid intense competition from the likes of Wal-Mart, Target, and other large stores. Gatto outlined part of his strategy in a July 2004 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News article. "The company will be far more open to externally fueled development. That will come in the form of relationships with the inventing and product development communities as well as the licensing community. That's a major change of direction for this company." In addition, Gatto planned to develop new brands for mass market and upscale department stores. Gatto's first licensing deal was with Wolverine Worldwide to produce its Hush Puppy hound doll.
As sales in the company's core retail gift business continued to falter in 2005, Russ Berrie and Company initiated a restructuring plan that included job cuts and other streamlining efforts to reduce costs. It planned to shutter sales and distribution operations in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Overall, company sales increased in 2005 due mainly to growth in its infant and juvenile division. The company's bottom line was not as positive, as it posted a net loss of $35.1 million for the year. Angelica Berrie, head of The Russell Berrie Foundation, decided to sell the foundation's 42 percent stake in Russ Berrie and Company in August 2006. Private investment firm Prentice Capital Management LP set plans in motion to acquire the stake. Prentice Capital Management would become the company's largest shareholder upon completion of the deal.
Elizabeth Rourke
Updated, Christina M. Stansell
PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARIES
Russ Berrie U.S. Gift, Inc.; Russ Berrie & Co. (West), Inc.; Russ Berrie and Company Investments, Inc.; Russ Berrie and Company Properties, Inc.; Amram's Distributing Ltd.; Russplus, Inc.; Sassy, Inc.; Kids Line, L.L.C.; Kids Line Australia Pty. Ltd.; Tri Russ International (Hong Kong) Ltd.; Russ Consulting Service (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.; Russ Berrie (U.K.) Ltd.; Russ Berrie (Holdings) Ltd.; Russ Berrie España, S.L.; Russ Berrie (Deutschland) GmbH; Russ Berrie (österreich) GmbH; Russ Berrie France S.A.R.L.; Russ Berrie (Benelux) B.V.; Russ Berrie (Ireland) Ltd.; Russ Australia Pty. Ltd." (encyclopedia.com)
"Russell Berrie, a maker of plush animals, toys and gifts who used his considerable wealth to advance health care and support religious and cultural groups, died on Wednesday in Englewood, N.J., where he lived. He was 69.
The cause was heart failure, the company said.
Mr. Berrie was chief executive and chairman of Russ Berrie & Company in Oakland, N.J., a business he started in a rented garage in 1963. It is one of the world's largest gift companies with more than 1,500 employees in the United States and other countries.
In 2001, Russ Berrie had sales of $294.3 million and net income of $40.2 million, selling items like a stuffed dog named Muffin and a stuffed bear known as Honeyfritz. Last summer it paid $45 million for Sassy Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., a company that makes toys for babies.
In 1998, Fortune magazine called Mr. Berrie one of the 40 most generous Americans. He gave large sums to charities through the Russell Berrie Foundation, which he founded in the mid-1980's. Beneficiaries of his philanthropy included the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan; the Russ Berrie Home for Senior Living, also known as the Jewish Home at Rockleigh, N.J.; the Berrie Center for Humanistic Care at Englewood Hospital; the Sister Patricia Lynch Regional Cancer Care Center at the Russell and Angelica Berrie Medical Pavilion in Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J.; the Center for Inter-religious Understanding in Secaucus, N.J.; and the Performing Arts Center at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J.
His largess also made possible the founding this month of the School of Professional Salesmanship at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J.
In 1996, he set up an award, the Russ Berrie Prize for Making a Difference, to honor New Jersey residents for uncommon heroism and community service.
A native of New York City, Mr. Berrie grew up in the Bronx and attended New York University and the University of Florida at Gainesville.
He is survived by his fourth wife, the former Angelica Urra; four sons, Brett, Richard, Scott and David; two daughters, Leslie and Nicole; two grandchildren; and two brothers, Murray and Wally." (nytimes.com)
"Kid Brands, Inc. (NYSE: KID) was a company that designed, developed and distributed infant and juvenile branded products. These products were distributed through mass market, baby super stores, specialty, food, drug, independent, and e-commerce retailers worldwide.
The company’s operating business were composed of four wholly owned subsidiaries: Kids Line, LLC; LaJobi, Inc.; Sassy, Inc.; and CoCaLo, Inc. These subsidiaries designed and marketed branded infant and juvenile products in a number of complementary categories, including infant bedding and related nursery accessories and décor, food preparation and nursery appliances, and diaper bags (Kids Line and CoCaLo); nursery furniture and related products (LaJobi); and developmental toys and feeding, bath and baby care items with features that addressed the various stages of an infant’s early years (Sassy). In addition to the company’s branded products, the company also marketed certain categories or products under various licenses, including Carter's, Disney, Graco, and Serta.
Kid Brands was founded in 1963 was based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The company had operations in southern California, New Jersey, Michigan, and in some foreign countries.
History
The company, formerly known as Russ Berrie and Company, was named after its founder, the late Mr. Russell Berrie (1933-2002, aged 69),[1] originated as a maker of stuffed animals, other toys and gifts.[2]
As it transitioned into a pure play infant and juvenile company, it acquired the following companies:
Sassy, Inc. (Summer 2001)[1]
Kids Line LLC (December 2004)[3]
CoCaLo, Inc. and LaJobi, Inc. (April 2008)[4]
In December 2008, the company divested its gift business operations to The Russ Companies, Inc. (TRC),[5] previously The Encore Group. The Company retained the Russ and Applause brands, and licensed them to TRC.[6]
To support the company’s focus on growing a leadership position in the infant and juvenile industry, on September 23, 2009, Russ Berrie received shareholder approval to change its corporate name to Kid Brands, Inc.[7] Along with the new name, the company’s common stock began trading under the symbol NYSE: KID.[8]
By April 2011, The Russ Companies filed for Chapter 7 Liquidation Bankruptcy and no longer exists as an entity.[9] A number of investors purchased its inventory, including its Barbie Pets and Raggedy Ann & Andy brands.[10]
As of 2011, Kid Brands continued to produce mattresses and other bedding. It was reportedly unclear what would happen to Applause after the brand was licensed out.[6]
Shining Stars
The Shining Stars program was introduced in partnership with the International Star Registry.[11] Russ Berrie's Shining Star Friends product line was introduced to market the program.
A message on the Shining Stars website states that, "Russ Berrie Inc. the licensor of the Shining Stars brand filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy on 26th April 2011 and therefore we apologize that the Shining Stars website associated with the Russ Berrie Shining Star products is no longer maintained."[12]
The promise of a second generation of Shining Star toys in 2012 had failed to materialize by the beginning of 2013, with no further updates having been made as of January 2016.
Philanthropy
The Russ Berrie Institute for Professional Sales at William Paterson University is named after Russ Berrie.[13]
In 1993, Russ Berrie made a gift of $1 million to build a new performing arts center and learning facility at Ramapo College, in Mahwah, New Jersey called, "The Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing Arts"." (wikipedia.org)