Halloween is a festival that grew out of a pagan custom known as All Hallow’s Eve, which was popular in the 19th century. It later came to be celebrated with great gusto in the United States.
From the very beginning, Halloween has been associated with the afterlife – ghosts, phantoms, apparitions and skulls – as well as with black magic, witches and fear. A pumpkin carved into the shape of a human head, hollowed out and lit from within, is the most recognisable symbol of this magical time, which gradually took on a rather more humorous character. People began dressing up as witches and ghosts. The tradition of costumed children going from house to house collecting sweets has become increasingly popular, and not only in the United States. In the Catholic Church, this time of year has an entirely different character: it is a solemn, reflective day known as All Souls’ Day (in Polish, Zaduszki). Even so, you can increasingly see traditional customs fading into the past and giving way to Americanised, commercialised fun.
Fortune-telling, games and all sorts of peculiar customs are an inseparable part of Halloween. Among the most popular games are bobbing for apples floating in water using only your teeth, and eating fruit and biscuits hanging on strings without using your hands.
The divinations are mostly a light-hearted part of the festival, but some can be truly macabre. One of them is the tradition of young unmarried women sitting in front of mirrors in darkened rooms. The girl must keep gazing into the mirror until the face of her future husband appears. According to the legend, if a skull appears in the reflection instead, the woman will die within a year.
First published (Polish original): 3 October 2009. Written by astrologers and esoteric specialists working with our editorial team; edited and translated for HOROSCOP.SPACE. © All rights reserved.
