Another night of costumes and pumpkins and candy and ghostly sights is upon us. I hope the weather is good for all the cousins as they trick or treat.
Here in Massachusetts, it is windy and coolish, but at least it is not raining. Thousands of people spend the day in Salem, which of course fancies itself the capital of witches and Halloween. Glenn and I went on a haunted history tour of our local Acton cemetery—very interesting!
Since we also love to think about what our ancestors were doing on October 31st, here are a few items I gleaned from an ancestry.com article:
Halloween was mentioned in American newspapers by the 1880’s, but no costumes were used. By the 1890’s costumes were at times worn, but the pranks part of the holiday was more common—
In 1890, a Reno newspaper wrote:“To-morrow night will be Hallowe'en, look out for your gate," referring to the tradition of stealing gates that was common around that time.
Also in Reno, this time in 1887, the paper mentions streets being barricaded with boxes, carriages moved from the street to sidewalks, and on one street, a “vehicle was mounted on the roof of a washhouse.”
By the early 1900’s, costumes and parties were in vogue, complete with ‘jack o lanterns, Indian masques, and black cats filled with bonbons’. Editor’s Note: I hope the black cats are not REAL!
The Stars and Stripes in 1942 wrote: “Halloween just passed…the tamest we’ve ever seen. Not even a telephone kiosk turned over.”
Back here in Massachusetts, we have pulled out our painted wooden ghosts and gravestones (‘I TOLD you I was sick’) and various decorations. Brian has unearthed our fog machine which we used in high school plays and he is looking forward to blasting the fog in spurts as the kids approach.
I hope that you ALL have a terrific Halloween. Enjoy!
Picture One: Jack O Lantern!
Here in Massachusetts, it is windy and coolish, but at least it is not raining. Thousands of people spend the day in Salem, which of course fancies itself the capital of witches and Halloween. Glenn and I went on a haunted history tour of our local Acton cemetery—very interesting!
Since we also love to think about what our ancestors were doing on October 31st, here are a few items I gleaned from an ancestry.com article:
Halloween was mentioned in American newspapers by the 1880’s, but no costumes were used. By the 1890’s costumes were at times worn, but the pranks part of the holiday was more common—
In 1890, a Reno newspaper wrote:“To-morrow night will be Hallowe'en, look out for your gate," referring to the tradition of stealing gates that was common around that time.
Also in Reno, this time in 1887, the paper mentions streets being barricaded with boxes, carriages moved from the street to sidewalks, and on one street, a “vehicle was mounted on the roof of a washhouse.”
By the early 1900’s, costumes and parties were in vogue, complete with ‘jack o lanterns, Indian masques, and black cats filled with bonbons’. Editor’s Note: I hope the black cats are not REAL!
The Stars and Stripes in 1942 wrote: “Halloween just passed…the tamest we’ve ever seen. Not even a telephone kiosk turned over.”
Back here in Massachusetts, we have pulled out our painted wooden ghosts and gravestones (‘I TOLD you I was sick’) and various decorations. Brian has unearthed our fog machine which we used in high school plays and he is looking forward to blasting the fog in spurts as the kids approach.
I hope that you ALL have a terrific Halloween. Enjoy!
Picture One: Jack O Lantern!
Picture Two: Our Halloween house, with Brian and Gina and the fog machine