-Halloween began 2000 years ago in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France with the Celtic Festival of Samhain.
-The Celts celebrated their new year on Nov. 1 which signaled the end of summer, the abundant harvest and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed that on the eve of the new year, Oct. 31, ghosts returned to earth. They believed that while the ghosts brought terror and harmed their crops, they also allowed the Druids (Celtic priests) to foresee the future.
-The Samhain festivities included bonfires to burn animals and crops as sacrifices to the Celtic gods, dressing up in costumes made of animal heads and skins, and telling one another’s fortunes. After the celebration, the Celts re-lit their hearth fires with flames from the bonfire in an effort to protect themselves during the winter.
– The rituals of the Celts were altered by A.D. 43, when Romans took over. During their rule, the Romans merged two of their festivals with Samhain. Feralia had been celebrated in late October to honor the passing of the dead and the second festival honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. It is believed that the Halloween tradition of “bobbing” for apples is a product of the combination of Samhain and the Roman festivals, since Pomona’s symbol was the apple.
– The festival of Samhain transformed with the spread of Christianity in the seventh century. Pope Boniface IV established Nov. 1 as All Saints’ Day in order to honor saints and martyrs. It is thought that the pope was attempting to replace the Celts’ pagan festival with a similar, church-oriented holiday. This celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas, from the Middle English word, Alholowmesse, which means All Saints’ Day. The night before which originated as Samhain, was called All-hallows Eve and was eventually changed to Halloween.
– In AD 1000, the church sanctioned Nov. 2 as All Souls’ Day in order to honor the departed. This holiday mirrored the pagan Samhain in several ways: they celebrated with bonfires, parades and dressing up; this time as saints, angels and devils. The combination of All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day was called Hallowmas.
– In Mexico, Latin America, and Spain, people honor dead relatives who are believed to return home on Oct. 31, El Dia de los Muertos. They construct altars with candy, flowers, photos and other remnants of the deceased relative’s life on earth.
-Since Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, All Saints Eve celebrations almost died out in England. Instead, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated on Nov. 5 by lighting bonfires and effigies in remembrance of the traitor who tried to assassinate the Protestant King James in 1606. Children also roamed the streets carrying a “guy” and asking for money on his behalf, though they kept what they received.
-The Halloween festivities in Ireland are similar to those in the United States. Children dress up and go trick-or-treating, and people usually throw parties afterwards. They play games such as “snap-apple,” in which children try to bite an apple hanging from a door, adults organize treasure hunts, and children play a card game in which they choose a card with candy hidden underneath. A popular treat called barnbrack is similar to fruitcake, which has a muslin-wrapped prize hidden inside. This prize is supposed to tell the future of whoever finds it. In addition, children play a game similar to “ding-dong-ditch,” called “knock-a-dolly,” where they ring neighbors’ doorbells and hide.
— Compiled by Christine Copper
Source: History.com
