This is house news, not world news: we are marking today with a bit of history and an invitation. The historical facts come from the sources linked at the end.
A festival centuries old
Halloween is celebrated every 31 October and its roots are usually traced back to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival whose name translates as "summer's end". It marked the close of the harvest and the arrival of winter. According to Sky HISTORY, a large communal bonfire was lit and then each household relit its hearth with embers from that fire: a gesture of community.
People also wore costumes and masks, to honour kindly spirits and hide from harmful ones. Over time, in the 9th century, the Christian feast of All Saints was fixed on 1 November, and the evening before became All Hallows' Eve, which was eventually shortened to "Halloween".
The cookie that carried a note
The fortune cookie has a more recent history and, like many good stories, a disputed one. KQED reports the version in which Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese gardener at San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden, adapted a Japanese cookie (senbei) by adding a small note, and the Benkyodo confectionery helped mass-produce it around 1911. It is one of several claims: a Los Angeles shop, Fugetsu-Do, and some Chinese companies also say they invented it. Nobody has settled it.
What does seem clear is the Japanese root: researcher Yasuko Nakamachi found an 1878 woodblock print showing similar cookies being grilled. And the note inside is the nice part: a short message for whoever opens it.
What they share
We are not saying one comes from the other, because it does not. But both revolve around something we like: sharing. A bonfire whose fire is carried to every home; a cookie broken open among friends to read the message. And both have a playful side with luck, good and bad.
For tonight: shoo away the bad luck
If you want one more excuse, today is a good day for Crumb Invasion, our free browser game with nothing to install and no account. You defend your oven from the usual bad luck (black cats, broken mirrors, spilled salt) and, if you beat the Jinx Eye, you get a fortune. There is a calm mode for playing without rushing and a daily challenge that is the same for everyone.
What we do not know
The origins of Halloween and of the fortune cookie are debated, and this is a short summary, not a study. As for the game, it is ours and we talk about it with enthusiasm, not as a neutral source. If you spot a mistake, tell us and we will correct it in plain sight.
This story's fortune cookie
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Sources
- Unwrapping the California Origins of the Fortune Cookie. KQED, .
- Samhain and the pagan roots of Halloween. Sky HISTORY.
- La invasión de las migas. La galleta de la suerte (esta web), .
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