9. The Cultural Cauldron of America
By the nineteenth century, these diverse beliefs, pagan, Christian and hybrid were beginning to die out in Briain. However, around the same time, the seeds of them were being taken elsewhere and replanted, giving them a new lease of life in America.
Up until that point, however, Halloween had not made much of an impact on America. The first settlers, the Pilgrim Fathers, had no truck with the festival -or any other. As others from the British Isles with less rigid beliefs, settled the new land, they did bring with them their traditional beliefs. However, these traditions existed in small pockets, never really straying beyond the properties of the settlers.
However, in the 1840s, a large-scale influx of settlers changed things, as Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine took up residence in the New World. Such were their numbers that their old traditions and beliefs- Halloween amongst them quickly spread and reignited interest in the ancient festival.
Twenty years later and Halloween as a tradition was quietly establishing itself. In 1866 that the Daily News of Kingston Ontario recorded the first use of a pumpkin lantern during festivities in the town. Some years later, in 1911, the same publication described the resurgence of souling and guising as part of the new tradition of trick or treating. The reinvention of Halloween had begun.
However, the authorities sanitized the festivities so that they were suitable for children. Newspapers encouraged parents to take anything ‘frightening’ out of their Halloween celebrations. Thus Halloween lost much of its original context and meaning. This modification, however, did not stop the ‘tricking’ aspect of these supposedly family-orientated festivities becoming out of hand. So in the 1920s, the authorities took Halloween firmly back into public control, introducing community Halloween celebrations to stamp out vandalism.
This public resurgence in its turn contributed to turning Halloween into the tremendous commercial event it is today. This commerciality has made it a profitable export to other countries, with the result over the last couple of decades of American Halloween traditions once again crossing the Atlantic and returning to their source.
While many people are happy to embrace the idea of trick or treat, telling spooky stories, pumpkin lanterns and fancy dress parties without really considering their original meaning, the return of this ancient winter festival has reawoken interest in its original practices. In many places, regions are rediscovering and reanimating their old Halloween practices in response to the American resurgence. Halloween seems to have come full circle. Perhaps its evolution is not over quite yet.