Hello, good evening everyone
You probably haven't forgotten it, but tonight we're celebrating Halloween
That's why all the Rapids Network teams are accompanying you all along these Halloween holidays, bringing you some short stories to make you shudder with terror, to remind you of the origins of this celebration
We have already talked about Samain/Samhain in previous article, because this year we decided to start our Halloween festivities on Samain night, I let you consult this previous article to learn more about it
Now it is Halloween night (date established by the Christians and Romans in 837)
But what do you really know about this party?
To do this, we must go back in time, this history being part of Celtic tales and legends, it is impossible to give a precise date, but we can think that it goes back more than 3000 years, i.e. about the same time as the Samain celebrations
According to legend, in the small town of Wicklow in Ireland, Jack Stingy, a despicable man who had lived there since birth, kept drowning himself in alcohol every night, in all the taverns he went and constantly provoking people, until the night he pushed the Devil himself
Satan could not let this lack of respect pass and offered Jack to take his soul from him to forgive him for this affront, but Jack, although drunk, accepted the deal, and asked Satan for one last favor, he asked him to buy him a last drink, before seizing his Soul
Satan accepted the arrangement and turned himself into a coin to pay for the last drink, but Jack, visibly cunning despite his advanced state of alcohol, put the coin in his pocket, or it was a silver cross of Jesus
The devil was then trapped and begged Jack to release him, which he accepted in exchange for a service, Satan should give Jack 10 years respite before coming to recover his soul, so Satan went back to hell, patiently waiting for the agreed time to return to earth
After 10 years, the devil appeared again to Jack who was standing by an apple tree, to tell him that the reprieve was over and that he was finally coming to get his soul back. Jack had no choice but to accept and asked Satan for a last service, which was to pick him an apple, so that he could enjoy the sweet and sweet taste of this fruit one last time.
While the devil was climbing the tree, Jack took the opportunity to carve a Cross from the apple tree bark, drawing Satan again, who had to go back to hell
The years pass, and Jack also continues his life of debauchery and comes the day of his death, for no human being is eternal
Paradise was refused to him, to punish him for all these years of debauchery and sin, so Jack had to go and knock on the doors of hell, welcomed in person by the Satan himself, who obviously had a very grudge against him for having been deceived twice in a row by the same person, refused him access to hell, thus damning him to wander on earth, all eternity, with only one reward, a piece of coal burning, to help him find his way home and thus return home
In order to protect this glowing ember, Jack removed a turnip and placed it inside, protecting it from the wind and cold and profitable at home only equipped with his lantern
Jack Stingy became Jack O'Lantern
That's when I lost you all in that story, you're going to say, "Okay for the turnip, but then why are we using pumpkins now?"
Well, it's relatively simple, during the great famine of 1840 in Ireland, the Irish people emigrated massively to the United States, taking with them their tales and legends
They wanted to remain faithful to their traditions, but unfortunately turnips were a very rare vegetable in the USA, so they decided to take pumpkins, which grew in abundance and above all much easier to cut.
It was finally in 1850 that the pumpkin became the official Halloween emblem throughout the world
Why do children receive treats on Halloween night today?
In England, it was customary to gather around the fire, with the family and tell terrifying stories while exchanging nuts and apples (this night was called "the night of the nutcracker" or "the night of the crunchy apples") and little by little these fruits were replaced by candy
What does this mean for the pumpkin today?
The pumpkins are carved to scare the children, in honour of Jack Stingy/Jack O'Lantern and the candle is used to light the way for all those souls wandering on earth
There is also a little legend that says that you can see a real witch on Halloween night, so all you have to do is wear her clothes upside down and walk backwards until the 12th stroke of midnight
Come back tomorrow and tell us if you tried and if you saw a witch!
So to celebrate Halloween with dignity, Rapids Network and Rapids Outreach have decided to offer you a contest
Just post on our Discord under the Halloween Event tab, a picture of your most beautiful, or your most terrifying Halloween costume, as well as a picture of your most beautiful pumpkin cut.
As a reward, the Top 3 costume/disguise photos that received the most emoji under the photo, their owners will each receive 200k $RPD and for the Top 3 pumpkin cutting photos that also recruited the most emoji, each will receive a 50k $RPD reward
Good luck to all and beware tonight, spirits, ghosts, witches and other damned souls are roaming around, don't try to make a deal with the devil, Jack has already cheated on him twice, he won't let himself be fooled so easily
And go tomorrow to tell us your little personal, terrifying stories that you will have experienced during that night
See you soon
Join us on Telegram and also Rapids TipBot Channel for play Halloween games with us !
I remain at your disposal if you have any questions
Sincerely
Christophe WILHELM
Ambassador Rapids France
