Tonight is Devil’s Night, the eve before Halloween when kids troll their neighborhood armed with toilet paper and shaving cream. Commonly known as Mischief Night in my home state of Jersey, this is the night for tricks, while tomorrow is the day for fun size candy and boss ass costumes. Hate your principal? Egg his house. Pissed at your neighbor? Soap his windshield.
While tonight’s activities remain pretty much the same across the nation, the eve has different names in different regions. Damage Night, Cabbage Night, Beggar’s Night, hell, even some of the U.S. adorably calls it Goosey Night.
Like Halloween, the 30th traditions go way back to Samhain, the Celtic New Year. But what do all these wacky names mean? Jersey’s website NJ.com posted a fun and easily digestible article exploring tonight’s many traditions, including Cabbage Night:
Cabbage Night stems from an old Scottish tradition, according to “Framingham Legends,” a history of the Massachusetts town. In Framingham, which apparently also calls it Cabbage Night, girls on Halloween Eve would closely examine cabbages pulled out of their neighbor’s patches to divine the qualities of their future husbands.
“Once the cabbage had served its purpose, the only logical thing to do with it was throw it against the door and run really fast, thus beginning a long tradition of Halloween pranks.”
What do they call it in your hood? What’s your craziest Mischief Night story? Sound off in the comments!
