As we begin turning the page on the final week of October, we are surely at the heart and splendor of Fall. With Fall, especially as we head through the last week of October and the great, mysterious and trick-filled holiday, that is Halloween, come pumpkins, scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns, costumes, trick-or-treat, Halloween parties, hayrides and many other festivities representative of the holiday also known as “All Hallow’s Eve”.

Before we delve into a fantastic and delicious holiday recipe I’ll share with you, I wanted to take a moment to divulge some of the lesser known history of Halloween. or as it originally was termed, “All Hallow’s Eve”. As we all know, Halloween has become holiday where people of all ages dress up in costume, go around their neighborhoods, and ring the doorbell of any house whose porch light is on and say “trick-or-treat”. The door would then open (hopefully) and the trick-or-treater would be greeted with candy or chocolate or any other kind of Halloween treat. People of all ages would do this on Halloween night until their hearts were content with the amount of Halloween goodies that had aggregated over the entirety of the night. Because of this tradition of going from house-to-house, saying trick-or-treat, and receiving treats on Halloween night, this night also became known as “Beggers’ Night”.

Now for the untold story of Halloween, and while many are versed in this story or are familiar with bits and pieces of the story, allow me to divulge the history of Halloween, in a nutshell, of course. Halloween was original called, “All Hallow’s Eve” and had more religious and spiritual meaning than it does today, as commercialism has taken over the holiday, as it does with most. The original intent of “All Hallow’s Eve” which still is observed today, for the most part, was to wear costumes and masks to disguise oneself in order to thwart off and frighten the evil or “malignant” spirits that, according to legend, roamed the world of the living for one night, “All Hallow’s Eve”. This night had a connection to the Christian Holy Day of “All Saints Day” which falls the day after Halloween. So, for all intents and purposes, All Hallow’s Eve was a night in which people dressed up to disguise themselves in mask and garb in order to scare off any evil spirits that may “stain” the purity of the Holy Day of All Saints Day. Through the years and centuries to come, as you can see, All Hallow’s Eve garnered much attention, especially through commercialism and transpired into what is known today as Halloween.

To celebrate the spirit of the holiday, here is a famous recipe for Pumpkin Rolls. A recipe that will have you begging for more!

Photo: http://foodnetwork.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/food/fullset/2012/11/19/1/YW0202H_pumpkin-roll-recipe_s4x3.jpg