It’s the night before Halloween, and that’s apparently a whole bunch of nights…
While Halloween is, like everything else, going to be different this year, there’s still a lot to do.
And in many parts of the country, you don’t have to wait until Halloween to get started.
In New Jersey, the night of October 30th can be a big night, though that night goes by quite a few names.
The most straightforward of these is Mischief Night, and you can guess what some of the traditions for a night with that name might be.
It’s believed that the New Jersey traditions started in England, and in some tellings they were originally held in spring before being moved to late October.
Depending on which part of New Jersey you’re in, tonight might go by other names.
Some communities know it as Devil’s Night, while others call it Goosey Night.
The origin of that last name isn’t totally clear, but it may be a night where people engage in “goosey” behavior, as in “loosey goosey,” going wild, getting silly, making trouble.
And then, in a handful of places there’s Cabbage Night.
That story starts in Framingham, Massachusetts, where young people would, for, um, reasons, use cabbages to try to see the future and get an idea of who they might marry.
Then, often, they would throw the cabbages at people’s houses.
That part I can get my head around, since it’s typical Halloween behavior.
But I’m still trying to figure out how you learn about your future spouse by gawking at a cruciferous vegetable.
If you’re celebrating Halloween, I hope you have lots of fun and lots of candy, maybe some of your favorites, and maybe something new.
Here’s one that’s off the beaten trick-or-treating path: the candy company Lollyphile is now selling blue cheese flavored lollipops.
Mischief Night? Cabbage Night? Goosey Night? What does it all mean? (NJ.com)
Blue Cheese Lollipops (Lolliphile)
