The villagers would attend the ceremonies wearing animal heads and skins. Seems like the Spiderman costume I wear is easier to clean than an animal carcass. I think the chances for getting a large candy bar during trick or treating diminish greatly by wearing an animal head. Speaking of trick or treat, the first trick or treaters were more interested in keeping the spirits at bay. During some Celtic celebrations, people would dress in costume, think animal skins, to ward off the bad and evil spirits. At the same time, large banquet tables were set up with huge amounts of food and drink as an offering for the spirits. Over time and blended traditions, the banquet approach went mobile. Instead of setting up the massive banquet tables, the participants would go door to door asking for food and drink.

This whole thing feels like the first version of Postmates in reverse to me. This idea of going door to door dressed up and holding people hostage with a trick or treat was known as mummying and dates back to the middle ages. By the 9th Century, Christianity had spread into the Celtic lands. Paganism was replaced by a more “civilized” approach. In 1000 A.D. the church designated November 2nd as All Souls Day, a time for honoring the dead. The celebrations were similar to Samhain, complete with bonfires, food, and drink. The less fortunate villagers would go door to door of the wealthier families asking for pastries in exchange for praying for the households’ dead relatives. Soul cakes were the original Snickers bars and it wasn’t a trick or treat, it was a prayer for the dead. Today seems like a much more festive approach.

Regardless of your current belief system, I highly recommend the following to enhance your Halloween experience in 2022:

1. Dress up in a costume regardless of your age. Seriously. Do it!
2. Eat less candy; it causes acne and the sugar rush is no bueno.
3. Let your kids skip school the following day… just kidding.
4. Once the kids are asleep, throw out 70% of their candy.
5. Maybe you go grab a Ouija board and see if you can chat with Uncle Fester?

However you decide to celebrate, have fun and remember that whatever weird costume your kids want to wear, its way more reasonable than the head of a 250 lb Elk.

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