On this episode of Our Island Universe: Why we can thank the stars for Halloween.
Host: Shanil Virani, Director of the John C. Wells Planetarium Harrisonburg, VA.
Follow on Twitter as shanilv
Transcript:
October 31, Halloween, is a very important date on the astronomical calendar. Our ancestors were adept sky-watchers and figured out the annual pattern of the 4 seasons. For some cultures, in particular the Gaelic, the "cross-quarter days" - the dates midway between an equinox and a solstice - signified the start of a season rather then the dates of the solstices or the equinoxes. This is why you often still hear the term "mid-summer's night" on the summer solstice.
For the Celts of the British Isles, winter began with Halloween, [or as they called it, 'Samhain', pronounced SOW-in]. Halloween marked the transition between summer and winter, light and dark -- and life and death. On that one night, according to folklore, those who had died during the previous year returned for a final visit to their former homes. People set out food and lit fires to aid them on their journey -- but they remained on guard for mischief the spirits might do.
For us in the northern hemisphere, the length of daylight hours shrinks and the length of night increases between the Fall equinox and the Winter solstice. After all, we all know the winter's solstice as the longest night of the year. Its not the first time that something astronomical became "spooky". After all comets were often the harbingers of doom, and a full moon brought out the werewolves!
Now October 31 is no longer a "cross quarter day" because of the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian. The actual mid-point would now fall on November 7. While there is no movement afoot to change the date of Halloween, while you're out "trick or treating" with the kids, remember that this holiday has its origins in the stars.