This year's scariest weekend will be extra scary high up in the mountains, on the edge of a cliff. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday there will be a Halloween atmosphere in the restaurant, and we've heard that there will be scary food on the menu. The children can take part in a treasure hunt looking for scary characters. If you find them all, you get a prize in the restaurant.
Feel free to book a table in advance. Opening hours can be found here.
Why do we celebrate Halloween?
Did you know that the belief associated with the night of November 1 is one of the oldest pagan traditions we have? It's an ancient Thanksgiving celebration with roots in Norse tradition and Celtic folklore.
Much suggests that today's Halloween has historical roots in Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival. The Celts were a people who lived in large parts of Europe, and the Celtic culture probably arose in 2000 BC. NOK Samhain was the celebration of the Celtic New Year and the last harvest. A bonfire was lit and crops and animals sacrificed to honor the dead. The word Samhain is pronounced Sow-in and means "summer's end" and marks the end of summer and the arrival of winter. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes of leather and masks of animal heads to protect themselves from evil spirits. This was precisely a haunted night where the veil of the spirits' world was at its thinnest, and deceased souls, spirits and other beings could move more easily between the two worlds.
In pre-Christian Norway, we find a Norse tradition called Vetrnaetr (Winter Night) that is reminiscent of Halloween. It was a festive day that marked the start of winter and the new year. In ancient Europe, Samhain was the time for the last "innhaustinga", slaughter. It was important to slaughter the animals and hang or dry the meat before Samhain. The meat that was not in the house was considered unfit for humans to eat. It belonged to the dead and the spirits from the other side of the veil that wander in our world around Samhain.
Samhain was later turned into a Christian custom to combat the pagan tradition. The missionaries perceived the Celtic myths and traditions as occultism and linked them with dark forces and witchcraft. All Saints' Day was introduced as a holy day on November 1 in the year 610 by the Roman Church, and unlike the Samhain celebration, it's not about ghosts and spirits that recur - it's a memorial festival to pay tribute to saints and martyrs. In 998, All Souls' Day was introduced on November 2, in memory of all souls who died in the faith and are still in purgatory. After the Reformation in Norway, the two days were merged so that All Saints' Day now commemorates all the dead in Protestant countries.
Despite the church's resistance and attempts to reduce the significance of Samhain, many of the rituals have survived to the present day. All Saints' Day is linked to many old folk customs and beliefs both in Norway and Europe. People believed that the dead walked among the living on the night of All Saints' Day, so food was set out for them. It was also common to distribute food, fruit and nuts, often with the hope that it would yield good crops the next season. It is possible that some of the background to today's "trick or treat" lies here.
Just as with the primstaven, an old Norwegian calendar that followed the changes of the seasons, it was not recommended to bang hard on the doors on All Saints' Day, because then a soul could be crushed. You should also avoid working on this day, as you might have an accident.
Samhain also has several similarities with the old, pre-Christian "Julebukk" tradition in Norway. In the beginning, there was no fixed time for this, so it usually took place when each village had finished haymaking and the animals had been brought in from the pasture. It wasn't until the first half of the 19th century that the feast began to be celebrated on November 1. Because it coincides with All Saints' Day, it was partly a celebration of the dead. Many people associate this tradition with something cosy, but the Christmas goat was originally a frightening figure that symbolized the dead, often wearing a goat mask and animal skins. Julebukken is well known in Norway, but in modern times it has become a game where children dress up and beg for candy during Christmas, go from door to door and sing Christmas carols.
Halloween has been influenced by many different cultures and religions around the world, but the common denominator is that it is a holiday where we honor and pay tribute to the deceased who are no longer with us.
Source: Kystmuseet Rørvik
