Wherever you go in the United States, Halloween is everywhere: in home decor, in supermarkets, in children’s costumes. A tradition imported from Ireland and which has since spread, becoming an integral part of American popular culture with its unmistakable pumpkin lanterns: les Jack-o’-lanterns.
One of the most widespread legends has it that a blacksmith named Jack, who had a penchant for alcohol and deception, had duped the devil twice, when they made a pact: his soul for money, money and 10 years of his life. Upon his death, Jack was denied access to heaven (due to his dissolute life) and hell (he played a joke on the devil). He found himself stuck between two worlds. But the devil still gave him an ember to light his turnip lantern.
With Irish immigration to the United States in the mid 19th century, the turnips have been replaced by gourds found locally. Orange cucurbits have quickly become the main Halloween symbol, first in the countryside and then throughout the United States since the early 20th century.
The Salem Witches …
The other symbol is the witches. Since these were associated with darkness and were, still according to legend, able to communicate with the dead, even with the devil, they were associated with this period which also marks the transition to winter, with the days getting shorter. Less light, therefore more darkness …
But the witches also echo another important episode in American history: that, in 1692, of the Salem Witch Trials, from the name of this town near Boston. Originally, there are three girls with strange behaviors. No certainty, but they may have been poisoned with ergot, a poisonous mushroom that attacks this cereal.
However, did the allegations of witchcraft spread quickly? Twenty people are hanged, including fourteen women. It is the largest witch hunt in North American history.
>> A letter from America, a series of exceptional episodes to be found every Tuesday. A sound postcard to help us better understand this America of today, as familiar as it is sometimes totally disconcerting. An RTL Originals podcast.
