Trick vs Treat and A Brief History of Halloween
Trick vs Treat, a Hallowe’en Showdown
Competition runs Oct 31 from 10 am US ET to midnight!
Halloween goes back to the ancient Celts who celebrated a festival called Samhain on Nov 1 that marked the end of the harvest season. They left out food and wine for spirits they believed came back as ghosts on Oct 31. When Celts went out on Samhain, they dressed as ghosts to either blend in or calm the roving spirits.
In the 700s, the Christian church replaces this pagan ceremony with All Saints Day. The night before was called All Hallows, which went on to become Halloween.
The first evidence of trick of treating comes from the middle ages. Children, and some poor adults, would dress in costume and perform songs and dance in exchange for sweets. We don’t know why, but this died out until the mid-1800s when Irish and Scottish immigrants in America brought the tradition back to life.
Evolution of Halloween:
Samhain (Celtic festival) –> All Hallows -> All Hallows Eve –> Hallows Evening –> Hallowe’en –> Halloween
Given this bit of history, choose your team: Tricky like a Level 2 cell or Sweet like a ganglion. May the spirit of Nurro be with you!
Fun Halloween fact learned in the research that went into this blog:
Jack O Lanterns were originally made from turnips! Kelly Marages summarizes:
In Irish folklore, a drunkard named Jack made a deal with the Devil that he would never go to hell. But as Jack found out when he died, that didn’t mean he was getting into heaven either. So Jack roamed the earth with a coal in a turnip, becoming Jack of the Lantern. The Irish turned carved turnips, potatoes, and beets into lanterns to keep him away. In the U.S., pumpkins were plentiful — and bigger — becoming the go-to for jack-o-lanterns.
The Competition lasts until midnight, when the spirits rest.
Bonuses:
Earn 5,000 points – win 2,500 bonus
Earn 15,000 points – win 5,000 bonus
Earn 25,000 points – win 10,000 bonus
For every 25,000 points above 25,000 – win 5,000 bonus
Member of winning team (if you’ve scored at least 2,500 points) – 10,000 bonus
Highest scorer on each team – 5,000 bonus
Player with #1 overall score – 10,000 bonus
Player with #2 overall score – 5,000 bonus
Player with #3 overall score – 2,500 bonus
Image by Monica Oh