Feeling unmotivated to carve another jack-o'-lantern out of a slimy pumpkin? As luck would have it, at least you don't have to struggle with a rock-hard turnip. The pumpkin's status as the main symbol of Halloween is actually somewhat of an historical coincidence. Ethnologist Katarzyna Herd explains why.
Two-hundred tonnes. According to SVT Nyheter, this is how much pumpkin was transported from Leif Nilsson's farm in Löderup in Österlen for last year's Halloween celebrations.
"But the fact is that we could just as easily have struggled with a turnip or beet every year at Halloween," says Katarzyna Herd, an ethnologist at Lund University.
The turnip as a jack-o'-lantern was a key symbol in the Irish myth of Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil but was condemned to walk in the dark with glowing coals in a hollowed-out turnip.
"Essentially, the same thing that we do with pumpkins and candles during Halloween today. The big difference is that in the British Isles, they used turnips or swedes because they were readily available," says Katarzyna Herd.
However, the Irish famine between 1845 and 1852 forced around one million Irish people to flee their country. Many ended up in the United States. Once across the Atlantic, it turned out that not only was the supply of pumpkins very good, but the orange gourds were easy to carve.
"At least in comparison to the more compact and hard turnip. But the fact is that a turnip or swede looks much scarier than the orange pumpkin. You just have to try it yourself," says Katarzyna Herd.
Ancient traditions behind today's scary Halloween costumes
Pumpkins and glowing jack-o'-lanterns are far from the only things we associate with Halloween. Ghosts, masks and scary costumes are also key symbols. These expressions actually have their origins even further back in time, when the harvest festival of Samhain was celebrated in the British Isles.
"During Samhain, the ancient Celtic Britons believed they were haunted by the dead and therefore lit fires to scare them away. To avoid being recognised by the spirits of the deceased, people dressed up in masks and other disguises. Halloween celebrations as they are today, with masquerade parties, lit candles and pumpkins, have evolved from both these Irish customs and traditions," says Katarzyna Herd.
Many holidays are associated with death
The world is full of celebrations linked to death, resurrection and existence, such as the Christian holiday Easter. Could the colourful Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), where people gather to receive the souls of the dead, be the holiday most reminiscent of Halloween? The celebration is characterised by skeletons and scary masks interspersed with colourful flowers and candles.
"The Japanese Buddhist festival of Obon also has a strong connection with death and the dead in particular. Obon usually takes place in August, which is arguably the most noteworthy month in Japan for horror and ghosts - a bit like October is for us in Sweden during Halloween," says Katarzyna Herd.
Is Halloween here to stay?
"At the moment, we have very few holidays in Sweden where we dress up or scare each other. It is also falls between summer and Christmas - an otherwise quiet period on the festivities front. Maybe that's why it fills a purpose - that something simply happens," says Katarzyna Herd.
Do you see any other holidays from other parts of the world coming to Sweden?
"The Chinese New Year has potentially started to have an impact in the form of decorations, New Year's pastries and biscuits, all of which are primarily sold in Asian shops. The increased Western interest in horoscopes can also be interpreted as an increased interest in China, as astrology is very important in Chinese culture," concludes Katarzyna Herd.
