Happy Halloween from Tomb Trippin'

So many cultures for so many centuries have celebrated this magical eve in a myriad of ways.
 

Halloween goes by the names:

• All Hallowe’en 
• All Hallows Eve 
• All Saints Eve

It is the eve of  the Western Christian church's feast of All Hallows Day and the eve of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)  in Latin culture (more on this tomorrow). Years ago, in France, Christians believed that one night a year the dead rose from all the church yards for what was called “the Dance Macabre, a wild and hideous carnival. In agricultural societies, it is celebrated as the end of the harvest season, and the beginning of the long cold winter.  



With all of its names and rituals, one common denominator remains––that Halloween is an evening set aside for the honoring of the dead.

MORE FUN HALLOWEEN FACTS:

• All Hallow’s Eve "is about humor and ridicule to confront the power of death. ... "Because some Western Christian denominations encouraged the abstinence from meat on All Hallows Eve, the tradition of eating certain vegetarian foods for this vigil day developed, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes and soul cakes."

(Wikipedia)

• "In 19^th century Ireland, candles would be lit and prayers offered for the souls of the dead . After this, eating, drinking, and games would begin. Throughout the Gaelic and Welsh regions the festivities including fortune telling games, mostly regarding death and marriage."
(Wikipedia)

"Virtually all present Halloween traditions can be traced to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween is a holiday of many mysterious customs, but each one has a history, or at least a story behind it. The wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from door to door demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and around, along with fairies, witches, and demons.

"Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these dreadful creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This practice is called mumming, from which the practice of trick-or-treating evolved. To this day, witches, ghosts, and skeleton figures of the dead are among the favorite disguises." (AncientHistory.about.com)

• "The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits." (Traditions of Halloween) 

Welcome to Tomb Trippin’!

Here at Tomb Trippin’ we like to celebrate the dead. (It's a fitting time of year, don't ya think?) What exactly is Tomb Trippin'? It's a brand new web series coming soon to YouTube! Soon we'll be launching our website and posting all sorts of great stuff about cemeteries and the history inside them.

Each day we “dig up” through our research long-forgotten, fascinating tales of the folks who came before us, giving new life to those asleep in the graves. Some are epic-size heroes who changed the course of history forever. Some are the most despicable of scoundrels who raised hell on earth wherever they went. Still others led quiet, unassuming lives but made a contribution of such grace or import that they should never be forgotten.

Jimmy Hanks

Each episode, host Jimmy Hanks––our “man in black”––rides his motorcycle to hidden corners of America, interviews the local folks living there, always samples the diner pie and house-brewed joe, and finds the most fantastical story buried in each town's graveyard.

Our resident expert, Minda Powers-Douglas, delivers all the facts you would ever want to know about the grave sites we visit. She provides in-depth knowledge of tombstone and grave structures and symbols, as well as "taphophile tidbits" that make our stories even more tantalizing.

Today marks the first day of our blog. We encourage you to follow our stories and tell us about your own local graveyard heroes or scoundrels! We're very eager to hear from all taphophiles (cemetery fans) with your favorite photos , facts and local legends. Maybe Tomb Trippin’ can come to your town to film an episode ... and, of course, have a slice of pie.

Check back later in November to meet our producers and read our mission statement for the video series with a different legend brought to you each episode .

This Veterans Day on our blog, we will visit the Sierra Madre Cemetery here in California to bring you the story of a single veteran responsible for saving over 1,000 lives! As Minda says, ”All lives matter.“ And as the veteran we highlight proves, we all make a difference in the way we touch each others' lives.

Please join us as we continue to grow, building our website and expanding our connections to other sites we know will excite you. For now, enjoy this haunted eve, dance your best harvest dance, honor those you love who came before you, score some great candy, and maybe even do some Tomb Trippin’ of your own. Dig It !

 -Julie