A History of Halloween-- Part 2: From 'Souling' to Jack-O-Lanterns

The All Saints' Day celebration was also called the All-hallows or All-hallowmas and, the night before it, the traditional Samhain in the Celtic religion, became All hallows  Eve, and eventually, Halloween.  Over the centuries, the three holidays --  All Saints Day, All Souls' Day and Samhain --  essentially merged into just one day, Halloween.

In England and Ireland during the Middle Ages during All Saints; Day and All Souls' Day celebrations, poor people would visit the homes of wealthier  families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for  a promise to pray for the homeowners dead relatives.

This was known as "souling" and became a practice later taken up by children, who would go door-to-door asking for gifts such as food, money and ale-- an early form of trick-or-treating.

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The practice of carving  faces into vegetables became associated with Halloween in Ireland and Scotland around the 1800s.  Jack-o-lanterns originated from an Irish myth about a man named "Stingy Jack" who tricked the devil and was forced to roam the earth with only a burning coal in a turnip to light his way.

People began making their own versions by carving scary faces into vegetables and especially pumpkins and placing them near doors and windows to scare  "Stingy Jack" away.

Like, Boo!!!  --DaCootScary

How Americans Struggled to Bury the Dead in 1918 Flu Pandemic-- Part 4: Like a Scene Out of the Middle Ages

Those buried in the mass graves were primarily poorer and immigrant residents so there was a class aspect to death and what happened to you.  The more affluent were more likely to secure the rites of passage into the hereafter than the poorer, more recent arrivals.

The scenes on the streets of Philadelphia appeared to be straight out of the plague-infested Middle Ages.  Throughout the day and night, horse-drawn carriages  kept a constant parade through the streets as priests joined the police   in collecting corpses draped in sackcloths and blood-stained  sheets that were left on porches and sidewalks.

The bodies were piled on top of each other in the wagons and limbs were protruding from underneath the sheets.  I couldn't help but think of that scene in the Monty Python movie.

The parents of one small boy who had succumbed to the flu begged the authorities to at least have him the dignity of being buried in a wooden box that had been used  to ship macaroni instead of wrapping him in a sheet and having him taken away in a patrol wagon.

Top Ten Reasons We Should Revive the Dark Ages

From the February 14, 2012, Listverse.

Yep.  As bad as they were, there were some good aspects about them.  I'm just listing them, but what the author had to say about these was very interesting and enlightening.  Check it out on Listverse.

10.  Low taxes
9.  Great lifestyle
8.  Crime was punished

7.  No lobbyists
6.  Money was money
5.  Live long and prosper
4.  Beauty

3.  Knights and damsels
2.  Amazing food
1.  Plenty of work for everybody

And Low Taxes said the Guy Who Just Paid Half His property Tax Bill ($4,765)  --Cooter

Ten Myths About the Middle Ages

The January 7, 2009, List Universe had a list of ten myths prevalent about the Middle Ages. They are:

10. DEATH PENALTY COMMON-- public beheadings usually only to the rice, and then not open to viewing from the general population.

9. LOCKED BIBLES SO PEOPLE COULDN'T READ THE TRUE WORD-- all books were hand written and thus very expensive. Most of the people couldn't read anyway.

8. POOR KEPT IN STATE ON NEAR STARVATION--

7. THATCHED ROOFS WITH LIVING ANIMALS-- Woven too tightly for animals to live in them.

6. SMELLY PEOPLE-- bathed more than we thought.

5. PEASANT LIFE OF DRUDGERY-- they worked hard, but did have other diversions.

4. VIOLENCE-- had it, but no worse than current life

3. OPPRESSED WOMEN

2. FLAT EARTH

1. CRUDE AND IGNORANT PEOPLE

Always Something to Think About from List Universe