Just in time for Halloween snacking, the Wine Enthusiast comes out with perfect wine pairings to go with your trick-or-treat loot (or the loot the trick-or-treaters left you with).
Want to know what to drink with caramel apples (muscat or gewürztraminer), fruity Jujubes (Prosecco), or nutty little “fun-size” candy bars (Madeira)? This article will be your guide to flawless Halloween pairings.
After all, the little ones shouldn’t have all the Halloween fun.
Halloween vs. Purim
Halloween: Today’s practice of children ringing doorbells and yelling “trick or treat” to solicit and/or demand gifts of candies, actually began as a a Celtic holiday,(no, not the Boston Celtics Basketball Team). In Scotland and Ireland as a fall ritual to ward away evil spirits from the harvests, the Celtics of Scotland would go door to door demanding ’soul cakes’ in exchange for prayers to protect the harvests. (The trick would be to ruin the harvest if the soul cakes weren’t forthcoming.)
It was believed that the wearing of hideous masks would frighten off any demons who want to bring misfortune to their fall harvests. Great Britain adopted the holiday and joined with Ireland in naming the night before Halloween, “All Hallows Eve.” The day after Halloween came to be known as All Saints’ Day, followed by All Souls’ Day, and those are indeed Christian holidays.
These holidays were brought to America and the rest of the western world during the great immigration years.
Purim: On Purim disguises are worn and gifts of food and/or money are GIVEN to friends and poor people
Some 600 years before Jesus was born Haman (chief enemy of the Jews) plotted to kill all the Jews all over the world on the 13th & 14th days of the Hebrew month of Adar. However, it is said that G-d turned the tables on Haman and the Jews now stood in authority of Haman.
These two days, the 13th and 14th would become days of rejoicing, rather than
days of mourning and will be known as Purim, celebrated forever
by sending food to one to another and gifts to the poor.
Ever since, Jews celebrate the Festival of Purim by dressing their children up in costumes of the heroes and of the enemies in the story of Esther. Special pastries and treats are prepared The costumed children are sent out with baskets of these ready-to-eat treats to be delivered to the doors of their most favored friends and relatives and to the poor
…I ask you…
Let’s put religion aside…Let’s call them Holiday A and Holiday B
Holiday A:
Disguises are worn and gifts of food and/or money are GIVEN to friends and poor people.
Holiday B:
Costumes are worn & gifts of food and/or money are DEMANDED with penalty of ‘evil’ or the ‘trick’ for those who do not heed the demands.
I for one would rather teach my children the greater goodness of giving rather than demanding.
I for one would like to turn the tables on the candy companies (who have successfully promoted their cavity creating ‘goodies’ into a multi zillion dollar industry who makes 90% of their annual revenue during Halloween.
In keeping with the Purim theme, I have taught my children a number of important lessons, such as the greater goodness of giving rather than demanding. They dress up on Halloween and carry in their plastic pumpkin bags bring home made cookies to our neighbors.
They are happier baking, wrapping and delivering their Halloween baked goods than any of their friends who go out demanding
goodies and have to sift thru their spoils for tainted candies.
But who am I to judge? I ask you…think about it… can we turn Halloween into a fun costume holiday where home baked goodies are delivered and not solicited.
From: Zelda
A Jew from Kalamazoo