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- «Arroo!»
«Whazzat?»
«It's only me. This party is great fun, isn't it?» - ―Teebo and Wicket W. Warrick in costume on Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en, was a festival held in certain locations in the galaxy, including the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant and the settlement of Bright Tree Village on the Forest Moon of Endor. For the Jedi, the festival entailed decorating the temple with carved pumpkins and cobwebs. For the Ewoks of Endor, the festival was an annual highlight characterized by revelry, costuming, laughter, and a large feast. During the Halloween of 3 ABY, a predatory creature known as a hanadak attacked Bright Tree Village but was coaxed into leaving when Wicket W. Warrick and other Ewoks placed pacifying blue dlock leaves upon it. Later during that same Halloween, a band of Duloks kidnapped the Ewoks' leader, Chief Chirpa, but Warrick and his friends Teebo and Kneesaa rescued the chief and allowed the Halloween festivities to continue.
Description[]
Halloween,[1] also spelled Hallowe'en, was an annual[2] festival celebrated by the citizens of the planet Coruscant[1] and the Ewoks of[2] Bright Tree Village[3] on the Forest Moon of Endor. During the festival, revelers dressed in costumes. For instance, Ewoks dressed as ghosts or other creatures, such as hanadaks. The Ewoks also held a party with a large feast, rollicked through the forest, and scared one another. Halloween decorations included orange gourds with faces[2] or other symbols carved into them, and cobwebs.[1] The Ewoks considered Halloween to be one of the best events of the year.[2]
History[]
Clone Wars[]
Halloween decorations at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant
During the Clone Wars, the Jedi Temple on Coruscant celebrated Halloween at least once. For the festival, carved pumpkins and cobwebs decked the halls. Some pumpkins featured the likenesses of Separatist leader Count Dooku; his enforcer, General Grievous; and his apprentice, Asajj Ventress; others featured the insignia of the Jedi Order. Another decoration featured a B1-Series battle droid propped up and dressed like a scarecrow.[1]
Meanwhile, clone troopers and Jedi Knights wandered about in masks and costumes. Among the masks available to visitors were Senator Padmé Amidala, Grievous, a Gungan, a Hutt, a golden protocol droid, a blue Ortolan, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and Jedi Master Yoda. Clone troopers wandered about in shiny, gold armor or were decorated like skeletons that wielded scythes. Jedi Knights dressed in pirate gear. A purple-furred wampa, a pink Tusken Raider, and a green Zillo Beast costume were also available. Even droids dressed up; protocol droids wore masks and fake arms to appear like General Grievous, and astromech droids wore sheets over their domes to appear like ghosts.[1]
The Forest Moon of Endor[]
- Kneesaa: «Look at that. Someone's dressed up as a Hanadak.»
- Teebo: «I wonder who it is.»
- Wicket W. Warrick: «Danger! That's no fancy-dress costume. That's a real Hanadak. Look at the fangs.»
- ―Kneesaa, Teebo, and Wicket W. Warrick discover a real hanadak loose in the village[2]
On the Halloween of 3 ABY[4] on the Forest Moon of Endor, the Ewoks Kneesaa, Teebo, and Wicket W. Warrick noticed what appeared to be a hanadak, a savage predator, in their village. At first they dismissed it as another Ewok in costume, but, upon closer inspection, they found that it was the genuine article. Warrick led a group of Ewoks to drive the creature from the village, but the hanadak repelled their assault. Warrick then led the Ewoks in covering the hanadak in the leaves of the blue dlock, a pleasant-smelling plant. The leaves soothed the beast, which retreated back into the forest.[2]
During that same year's Halloween, a group of Duloks took advantage of the Ewoks' preoccupation with their Halloween party to raid the village's storehouse. There, they accidentally stole away with not only foodstuffs but also Chief Chirpa, leader of the Ewok village. Kneesaa, Teebo, and Warrick discovered that Chirpa was missing and followed the Duloks' tracks into the woods. Warrick sneaked up behind the Ewok leader, cut him free of his bonds, and allowed the chief to fight off the Dulok brigands. The Ewoks returned to their village, and the Halloween festivities continued.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
- "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?"
- ―Mon Mothma, upon seeing toddler Luke Skywalker in his stormtrooper Halloween costume
Luke Skywalker goes trick-or-treating.
The holiday of Halloween—spelled Hallowe'en—originally appeared in the comic story "Chief Chirpa Kidnapped!," published in 1988 as part of the Ewoks Annual from Marvel Comics.[2] Over twenty years later, the online video game Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures featured a Halloween theme from October 24 to November 11, 2011. The Jedi Temple in which much of the game takes place was decorated, and players had the opportunity to purchase masks of Star Wars characters and species, costumes, Halloween decorations, and two Halloween-themed droids, K-3RNL and J-4CK. The game also featured a special stage of "Rocket Rescue," in which the player controls the astromech droid R2-D2 in a ghost costume.[6]
Both the Ewok Halloween and the Jedi Temple version bear much similarity to the real-world holiday of Halloween, which is also spelled "Hallowe'en."[7] The real-world version appears in the non-canon children's book Darth Vader and Son, written and illustrated by Jeffrey Brown and first published in 2012. In the book, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader takes his son, Luke Skywalker, trick-or-treating to the home of Rebel Alliance leaders Mon Mothma and Crix Madine. The book's setting is nebulous, as scenes such as this one seem to take place in the real-world as opposed to the Star Wars universe.[5]
Appearances[]
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (In-game location: Main Hall) ("Halloween" festival, October–November 2011)- "Chief Chirpa Kidnapped!" — Ewoks Annual (First appearance)
Non-canon appearances[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (In-game location: Main Hall) ("Halloween" festival, October–November 2011).
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 "Chief Chirpa Kidnapped!" — Ewoks Annual
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Essential Guide to Characters
- ↑ "Chief Chirpa Kidnapped!" takes place concurrently to the rest of the Ewoks comic series.
"Star Wars Publications Timeline" — Star Wars Insider 23 dates the events of that series to three years after the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which corresponds to 3 ABY according to The New Essential Chronology.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Darth Vader and Son
- ↑ Tricks and Treats!! on Intergalactic News (archived from the original on December 23, 2011)
- ↑ Halloween - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary on Merriam-Webster Online (archived from the original on April 9, 2010) — the real-world Halloween includes costumes and Jack-O-Lanterns, both of which appear in Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures and "Chief Chirpa Kidnapped!".
