Halloween? Balls, Costumes And Bizarre Imagery- We've Been At This For Awhile

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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Not ' our ' Halloween, this depiction of a ballet in 1836 is like an advertisement for Halloweens of the future. Well, black cat, ghouls, graveyard, unsure on dog and aggressive short guy. Like some equally bizarre balls and other ' dress up ', it could have been a Tuesday in July, not All Hallow's Eve on the Church calendar.

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Of course we had our Ichabod's to curl one's toes, poor guy. It just did not have to stop there- s if an entire war was not scary enough. NYPL, Children's Book section.


Originally intending the whole, usual ' History of Halloween ' aka, a potential snore, tripped over something more fascinating. Yes, All Saint's Day, in the Church, a day to remember those who passed from this earthly realm ( and still does ) was preceded by ' All Hallow's Eve ', the night before when those saints- aka dead people- came back for a visit. Church meets superstition morphed into today's orange and black gigantagon scare and chocolate fest. Short version, please excuse, to all our experts?
ghosts masquerade era.jpg

A ' Masquerade ' Ball, with some costumes we'd consider odd, disturbing and confusingly bizarre today. Like if it was Halloween! For adults!

Yes, the costumes supposedly originate as a means to scare away equally scary spirits. We've slipped a little on this over decades- from Joe DiMaggio to Hines Ward, not a lot scary about the sports hero costumes bought, for instance. Well, James Harrison frightens everyone. We like it that way.
ghosts fancy dress kids cropped.jpg

No worries, children were indeed included in the rage. I read somewhere ' fancy dress ' meant very post war but keep finding era ads using the term.

Lost through time, it transpires the heroes of sports and history, ghouls, ghosts, politicians, goodness and famous rogues impersonated all for fun has been a long, long standing tradition. Long! We just keep digging it up ( sorry ). It's just, plain fun to dress up, even as adults. And while we're at it be bizarre and scary.
ghosts fancy dress almacks.jpg

Even earlier, across the Pond at legendary, legendarily snooty ball room Almacs, a Regency era Masquerade Ball. We have indeed been at this awhile although not seeing the bizarre here.

So- to keep it simple, best, most ' era ' examples? Something called a ' Masked Ball ' slowly morphed into a social event called a ' Masquerade Ball ' and finally, at the tail end of Victorian Era, " Fancy Dress Ball ". No expert, guessing from Godey's, Harpers and Demorest articles by the Civil War era we would have been attending ' Maquerades ', balls where the bizarre were displayed, seemingly with some cerebral theme we would never figure out today. Like Dante?

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These would be typical of a lot of ads from the 1850's, and there are a lot. Dressing in costumes was a much bigger deal than I knew or suspected until looking around the topics. And including the chance to scare, frighten and makes one's toes tingle? Best Halloween in July or May or August ever. We really, really have been at this for awhile. Kind of nice.

Saving the Pilgrim- Comforting- Ghost-Knight-Story for the next Halloween thread.... preview. Sorry, you bump into this stuff and can't resist.
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I'm not sure, it may be a Thanksgiving story........ :giggle:
 
Halloween also had other names. It is, of course, All Hallows (the evening of All Saints Day in the religious calendar). But, it could also be Devil's Night, Beggars' Night, Mischief Night, Miggy Night, Gate Night, even Goosey Night! -- and many others.

In some rural parts of New England and Upstate New York, it is till remembered as Cabbage Night!
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Cabbages do well in cooler weather, and come the end of October, many gardens still had them unharvested. The poor cabbage became a prime target for celebrating pranksters. The ideal was to find leftover rotting cabbages, gather them up and hurl them at houses in the neighborhood -- sort of "Egging" without the eggs. But, even ripe cabbages were fair picking.
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[N.Y. Evening Post, 8 Nov. 1870]
The blog "New England Folklore," further reports: "Happily, there were also more beneficial Halloween roles for cabbage to play. In Ireland, for example, cabbage and potatoes are ingredients in a dish called colcannon. At Halloween, colcannon would be served with a ring, coins, or other items hidden it. Each item foretold a specific future for the person who found it. The ring indicated a happy marriage, the coins wealth, etc."

New England lore also said that "On Halloween hang up a cabbage-stump over the door. The first person of the opposite sex that comes in is the one you will marry" (What They Say In New England, 1896). Another version says: "On Halloween a girl is to go through a graveyard, steal a cabbage and place it above the house-door. The one on whom the cabbage falls as the door is opened is to be the girl’s husband" (Current Superstitions, 1896).

But Halloween pranks could be costly:

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[Boston Transcript, 4 Nov. 1865]
$5 was a mighty hefty fine for a youngster to have to pay in 1865!
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[1868]


So, Happy Cabbage Night!
[And, don't get caught!]
 
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In November 1864, Kate Stone wrote the following in her journal, Brokenburn:

“Some gentlemen called, and we had cards. After they left, Lucy and I tried our fortunes in divers ways as it was ‘All Hallow’e’en.’ We tried all magic arts and had a merry frolic, but no future lord and master came to turn our wet garments hanging before the fire. There were no ghostly footprints in the meal sprinkled behind the door. No bearded face looked over our shoulders as we ate the apples before the glass. No knightly forms of soldiers brave disturbed our dreams after eating the white of an egg half-filled with salt.”

When Kate Stone's diary/journal was published in 1955, it was to wide acclaim, but is not as well-known as the diary of Mary Boykin Chestnut.

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Image from Wordpress.com
 
View attachment 163528
Not ' our ' Halloween, this depiction of a ballet in 1836 is like an advertisement for Halloweens of the future. Well, black cat, ghouls, graveyard, unsure on dog and aggressive short guy. Like some equally bizarre balls and other ' dress up ', it could have been a Tuesday in July, not All Hallow's Eve on the Church calendar.

View attachment 163526
Of course we had our Ichabod's to curl one's toes, poor guy. It just did not have to stop there- s if an entire war was not scary enough. NYPL, Children's Book section.


Originally intending the whole, usual ' History of Halloween ' aka, a potential snore, tripped over something more fascinating. Yes, All Saint's Day, in the Church, a day to remember those who passed from this earthly realm ( and still does ) was preceded by ' All Hallow's Eve ', the night before when those saints- aka dead people- came back for a visit. Church meets superstition morphed into today's orange and black gigantagon scare and chocolate fest. Short version, please excuse, to all our experts?
View attachment 163527
A ' Masquerade ' Ball, with some costumes we'd consider odd, disturbing and confusingly bizarre today. Like if it was Halloween! For adults!

Yes, the costumes supposedly originate as a means to scare away equally scary spirits. We've slipped a little on this over decades- from Joe DiMaggio to Hines Ward, not a lot scary about the sports hero costumes bought, for instance. Well, James Harrison frightens everyone. We like it that way.
View attachment 163525
No worries, children were indeed included in the rage. I read somewhere ' fancy dress ' meant very post war but keep finding era ads using the term.

Lost through time, it transpires the heroes of sports and history, ghouls, ghosts, politicians, goodness and famous rogues impersonated all for fun has been a long, long standing tradition. Long! We just keep digging it up ( sorry ). It's just, plain fun to dress up, even as adults. And while we're at it be bizarre and scary.
View attachment 163524
Even earlier, across the Pond at legendary, legendarily snooty ball room Almacs, a Regency era Masquerade Ball. We have indeed been at this awhile although not seeing the bizarre here.

So- to keep it simple, best, most ' era ' examples? Something called a ' Masked Ball ' slowly morphed into a social event called a ' Masquerade Ball ' and finally, at the tail end of Victorian Era, " Fancy Dress Ball ". No expert, guessing from Godey's, Harpers and Demorest articles by the Civil War era we would have been attending ' Maquerades ', balls where the bizarre were displayed, seemingly with some cerebral theme we would never figure out today. Like Dante?

View attachment 163535
These would be typical of a lot of ads from the 1850's, and there are a lot. Dressing in costumes was a much bigger deal than I knew or suspected until looking around the topics. And including the chance to scare, frighten and makes one's toes tingle? Best Halloween in July or May or August ever. We really, really have been at this for awhile. Kind of nice.

Saving the Pilgrim- Comforting- Ghost-Knight-Story for the next Halloween thread.... preview. Sorry, you bump into this stuff and can't resist.
View attachment 163536
I'm not sure, it may be a Thanksgiving story........ :giggle:

What a wonderful, detailed description! Thank you.
 
Great work, JPK. The blogger at In the Swan's Shadow believes that Halloween as we think of it wasn't much a part of mainstream culture, but does give some ideas of where the traditions that are our modern Halloween originated. She says that we get "bobbing for apples, jack o'lanterns, bonfires, divination and fortune telling for fun" from the Scots and Irish.

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Snap-Apple Night, Irish artist Daniel Maclise, 1833
http://theebonswan.blogspot.com/2012/10/but-was-there-halloween-then.html

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Carved turnips were a precursor to jack o'lanterns
 
The same website says that the precursor for trick or treating was an English tradition of "fouling," in which young people would go door to door requesting sweet cakes, "soul-cakes." and that they would then pray for the deceased members of that household.

Also from the English is the tradition of mumming, parading about in costumes and singing songs.

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Mummers parade, 1845
 
Trick or treating as a custom originated in the 9th century. On all Soul's Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes". These were squares of bread with currants. The Christians would promise to pray for the soul's of the dead relatives of the donors of the cake.

The custom of celebrating Halloween was brought to America in the 1840s by the Irish. They had used turnips to make Jack-O-Lanterns in Ireland. In America they discovered that pumpkins were better and very plentiful. Ever since, the day has been celebrated with carved pumpkins.
 
I like this thread about Halloween. Personally though, I don't know much about the traditions that may or may not be related to Halloween. I just know that the Sleepy Hollow (NY) Fire Department paints their fire trucks orange and black, and has an emblem of the Headless Horseman on it.
 
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I like this thread about Halloween. Personally though, I don't know much about the traditions that may or amy not be related to Halloween. I just know that Sleepy Hollow (NY) Fire Department paints their fire trucks orange and black, adn had an emblem of the Headless Horseman on it.



Sure it is! Poor Ichabod had no intention of being a Halloween standby by but when you have a flaming pumpkin hurled at you, the matter is taken out of your hands. That's pretty awesome of Sleepy Hollow Fire Department- had no clue the town still existed, so thank you!
 
@John Hartwell , had forgotten Mischief Night! Good grief- but had been told as a child only those grinches who refused to hand out candy would fall victim. Guessing it wasn't true? One could dutifully hand out treats and still fall victim? I never made the rounds with corn, soap or cabbage. It always seemed so foolhardy, risking retribution and probable weekends forfeited cleaning up messes, not to mention an awful lot of unwanted attention. In a world full of Brussel Sprouts, homework and Sunday School, weighing the scales further on the part of adults was just silly.
 
History of Halloween from "The Southern Heritage Celebrations Cookbook", 1983, page 100.

"The night before All saints Day on November 1, was celebrated as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve. Falling at the same time as the Druids autumn festival of Samhain on the last day of October., the Christian observance became mixed with the ancient pre-Christian British customs. The Druid priests worshipped nature and performed mystic ceremonies to the great sun god. The Druidist knew that the souls of the dead returned during the autumn festival to warm themselves at their old hearths. This was accepted. But there were also evil spirits abroad, and great bonfires were built on hilltops to honor the sun god and to keep the evil spirits at bay. After the bonfires were lit, the villagers donned masks and sang and danced around the flames, pretending to be pursued by evil spirits."

"Americans paid little attention to Halloween until the Irish came here in the 1800s. They knew of an Irishman named jack who use to play tricks on the devil and was condemned to wander forever, carrying a lantern. They found the American pumpkin made a perfect Jack o' lantern, and it became our main symbol of Halloween."

"Elements of the modern Halloween can be traced to the Romans who took England: they had already integrated All Saint's Day with the festival of Pomona, goddess of the fruits. We drink cider, use fruit for centerpieces, apples for bobbing and candying, and nuts symbolic of food stored for winter."
 
Postcards didn't become really popular until 40-50 years after the Civil War, so they're out of our time frame. But, on nights like tonight, time sort of looses its powers. So:
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That last one, with the Scottish man in a kilt tripping over a pig is a bit puzzling. He's got a pitch-fork, and since cabbages were used for Halloween divination, the best I can figure is that he's sneaking into a cabbage patch to steal one "to know events before they happen," as the poem says. His stumbling over the happy pig provides "a hearty laugh" to the farmer's family. Perhaps(??).

Images are all from HipPostCard auctions.
 
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