Early Halloween Traditions

October 31, 1903, Oshkosh Northwestern

This week is Halloween, one of the blog's favorite holidays, so it's no wonder that yours truly is obsessed with covering it properly.  Today, we go back 117 years when young ladies could predict the identity of their future husbands via varying lengths of candles.  I see this as a party game, a Halloween version of "Mystery Date" for young girls with as much seriousness as conjuring up the spirit of "Bloody Mary" in a mirror.  But of course, this was a different time when marriage had a different importance than today.  Back then, that was, in most circles, what young women were expected to aspire to, as suitable occupations for women were limited and freedoms were curtailed. Today, women can be anything, not just secretaries, telephone operators, teachers, nuns, or nurses (and some of those occupations weren't open to women in 1903 either).  So, fun as it might be, there had to be some undercurrent of legitimacy and urgency in the backs of some of those young minds.  Too much seriousness for a Halloween posting on a Monday...leave it to me!