The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Halloween: Why Do We Celebrate This?

Episode Date: October 31, 2022

Halloween is the most expensive holiday after Christmas, and Desi Lydic is going to investigate this beloved holiday, from its Celtic origins to trick-or-treating to the raging parties we know today.��See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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egos and accounts of the extraordinary power of decency. Listen on the I-Heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You're listening to Comedy Central. Hello my dearees. Halloween is right around the corner. Which reminds me, I need to get a costume. Hello my dearees. Halloween is right around the corner. Which reminds me. I need to get a costume. Now, according to my local CBS, Halloween is a two-month festival beginning September 1st,

which celebrates the worst candy of all time. But actually, Halloween is an ancient holiday with a rich and spooky history. And by spooky, I mean, interested. It all started in ancient Ireland, where they celebrated the earliest version of Halloween, the festival of Sawan. That's right, the Irish gave us not one but two holidays where people get wasted and have sex behind a dunk anduts. Hey Ireland, thank you. They believe that on the night of October 31st, the veil between the world and the afterlife was lifted,

and that spirits returned for one night, like a divorced dad on your birthday. So to win favor with the spirits, they lit bonfires and offered gifts to them. But most importantly, they disguised themselves in costumes so the dead wouldn't recognize them. Because, trust me, no one wants to get stuck in a conversation with the ghost. They're always like, avenge me, avenge me.

It's like, okay, weirdo, I just met you. Costumes during saw when consisted of animal heads and skins. Ew, but in their defense, it was ancient their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, and their, and their, and their, and their, their, and their, and thii, and then, and then, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, th, th, and, th, and th, and th. th. thi, and thi, and thi, and thi. thi, and thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tooomooooooooooooooooooooa. tooooooooooooo. tooom. toomorrow, and, and, and, no one,ir defense, it was ancient times. Those were the only costumes Party City had back then. For thousands of years, someone was celebrated in Ireland by the Celtics. Sorry, Celtics. Until Ireland got a very special delivery on its doorstep. Catholicism! And the Catholics gave the festival a holy makeover, naming November 1st, all sains day, aka all halows, making the night before Hallows Eve. Eventually this evolved into Halloween. Like many other scary things, you have the Catholic Church to think. After this transition, the earliest version of trick-or-treating began.

Medieval beggars would pray for people's dead relatives in exchange for food. And that's pretty depressing. Outsourcing you're praying to the less fortunate? I mean, how lazy are you? Ooh. My postmates with a single bottle of water is here. Bring it in! But there was fun trick-or-treating, too. Kids dressed up in costumes and offered to sing or recite a poem and exchange for food, or money or wine. And I know what you're thinking. Kids drinking wine, but don't worry, it's Irish wine, so it's basically just rancid grape juice. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Halloween started getting popular around the world, especially in America, after a Halloween poem by Robert Burns

became popular. And I know it might seem weird that something became mainstream due to poetry, but if you think about it, it's the same way we all learned about CISRP. At the turn of the century, the influx of Irish immigrants made Halloween even bigger in the US. And it actually started to get a little rowdy. Kids use the day as an excuse for vandalism and general assulery. A tradition that continues to this day. Oh, mother f-f-hawk! I will kick your ass at soccer practice, Timmy! It was so bad, some politicians wanted to cancel Halloween altogether.

Luckily, the solution was already built in. Tricker-treating. Everyone figured out that if they gave kids treats, in exchange for not acting like little dickheads, they'd be chill. Trick-treating exploded by the 1950s, with the mass production of candy. Although back then, candy was weird. They had all these suggestive names,

like zagnuts and sugar daddies. If you like candy, kids, you'll love Uncle Jimmy's pole smokers. Mmm, pole. By the 1970s, Halloween wasn't just for kids anymore. Adults started to get their th th th th to get their th th th th to get their th their their th th th th th to get to get to get to get to to their the 1970s, Halloween wasn't just for kids anymore. Adults started to get into it too. They threw parties, they wore costumes, some sexy and some really sexy. Oh yeah, Dick Nix-Hive, where you at? These days, Halloween has taken on a new meaning, celebrating the macabre and having a safe

space to explore our identities with our friends and family. I'm just fucking with you It's about making as much money as possible It's the most expensive holiday after Christmas and we don't even get a PlayStation out of it Just some highly regrettable photos and a mouth full of cavities Lost another one so now. So now you know how Halloween got to be so spooktacular. I hope everyone out there has a safe and fun time this year. Enjoy it because the next holiday is Thanksgiving, when you have to spend the whole day with your entire family.

Ha ha ha ha! Watch the Daily Show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Do nice guys really finish last. I'm Tim Harford, host of the Cautionary Tales podcast. Do nice guys really finish last. I'm Tim Harford, host of the Cautionary Tales podcast. Do Nice Guys Really Finish Last? I'm Tim Harford, host of the Cautionary Tales podcast, and I'm exploring that very question. Join me for my new miniseries on the Art of Fairness. From New York to Tahiti will examine villains undone by their villainy.

Monstrous, self-devaring egos and accounts of the extraordinary power of decency. Listen on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.