The colors orange and black.
The colors orange and black are most likely further representations of the time of year, rather than any Halloween lore or mythology. The color orange likely represents autumn, when the leaves change from green and orange pumpkins are ripe for the picking. As mentioned earlier, the Celtic festival of Samhain marked the transition between “light” days and “dark” days – so the black likely represents those dark days of winter when there are fewer daylight hours to attend to the fields and crops. Of course, the modern secular Halloween retailers have certainly pushed the orange-and-black as official colors of Halloween, so such an explanation seems weak, but it’s true.
Bats.Bats are nocturnal creatures, so it’s natural that a celebration about the end of the light seasons and the beginning of the dark ones would incorporate them. Additionally, in the old days Halloween meant big bonfires, which draw mosquitoes and moths, which would in turn draw bats, so bats were likely a common sight during the early Samhain festivals and later Halloween celebrations. Those rational explanations aside, bats are sort of creepy, and certain groups thought that the little flying rodents were able to communicate with the dead. How they would know is uncertain, considering the bats can’t communicate with US, but whatever. Also, once vampire legends made their way into Halloween folklore, the position of the bat was set – since it was thought that vampires could transform into bats. PLUS, witch hunters were pretty sure that witches could transform into creepy creatures like black cats, bats, and spiders, so there’s that, AND there are vampire bats who only feed on blood. All those things put together might make bats the most Halloweeny things ever.
Spiders.As we move more into the “spooky” tales of the Halloween symbol, we’ll start with spiders. Go to a Halloween party and you’re sure to see fake spiderwebs spread all over the place. Forgoing a discussion of any potential mystical qualities a spider might have (because, ew), it is significant that spiders weave webs, which has long been associated with the passing of time, progress, and fate.
Black cats.
there are some ancient cultures who also believed that, on Halloween night, the veil between the living world and the spirit world was, if not lifted entirely, at least a little thinner. Ancient Celtic religions taught that cats were reincarnated souls of humans, and that they were able to see the future. Also, it was thought (as mentioned earlier) that witches could turn into cats. Even those who thought that was fantastical believed cats to be the “familiar” of witches. Truth be told, most single ladies were though to be witches, and, just like today, many of the single ladies had cats. So, in the 1600′s or so, the local cat lady would have probably been tried for witchcraft.
In the 1600′s and 1700′s several different cultures would hold a bonfire in June on St. John’s Eve and they’d throw cats into said bonfire. King Louis XIV forbade the practice, but the French villages kept doing it for more than a hundred years after the practice was abolished. Thus is the superstitious power of the cat.
Skeletons.
Back to that whole “night where the line is blurred between the living and the dead thing,” skeletons are an oft-seen Halloween symbol for that reason. The skull, in particular, is a symbol used by many different cultures to represent either the brevity of human mortality, the fear of death, or danger that can result in death. Think about the Jolly Roger symbol on pirate ships – it was there to threaten other ships into surrendering without a fight. In other religions, skulls feature on the necklace of Hindu goddess Kali, over the head of Tama, Buddhist Lord of Death, and the list goes on. The Druids and the Celts believed that the skull was the “psychic seat” of the human soul. All in all, skulls and skeletons are associated with Halloween because they represent the end of the physical part of life, something that is connected to Halloween both because of the death of the “light” seasons and because of the perceived connection to the spirit realm.
Ghosts.Since Samhain not only celebrated the end of harvest, but also those had passed into the next “realm,” it is called by some a “festival of the dead.” The idea of ghosts plays into this idea that Halloween night is the one night that the spirits of the ancestors are able to walk among the living. Plus, they’re spooky. Ghosts! Oooooh.
Jack O’Lanterns.
Originally, the aforementioned “guisers” would carry hollowed-out turnips with candles inside them to light their way from house to house to beg and pray. Eventually, the tradition changed to carving pumpkins, and Jack-o-Lanterns as we know them were born. One legend sticks out above all others in regards to the Jack-o-lantern tradition. An Irishman named “Stingy Jack” was a drunk and a prankster, and he managed to make both God and the Devil angry. He died, and neither heaven nor hell wanted him, so he was stuck wandering around on earth. He carried a turnip, hollowed out, with a candle inside, to light his way, and to keep him from knocking on their door, the Irish would carve scary jack-o-lanterns to put around their houses to keep him away. Or, so they believed, and a tradition was born.
Witchs.
What’s the go-to Halloween costume for most little girls? Oh right – some Disney princess. What WAS the go-to Halloween costume for little girls until about 10 years ago? Witch! What’s the go-to costume for most female people who get talked into dressing up for their office’s Halloween party? Witch! What’s the central subject of most Halloween movies? Unkillable serial killers and mass murderers! Different than witches! Though, if you talk to someone from, say, the Salem Witch Trail era, the difference was not so great. Witches were feared, and it was believed that their “powers” were at their greatest on Halloween night. It was thought that witches were in league with the devil, and that meant burnings at the stake, dunkings, and worse for women who had never so much as touched a cauldron or a broomstick. Still, the image of a witch riding her broomstick across a full moon is one of the most traditional Halloween symbols or images today.
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