The History of Halloween
From ghoulies and ghosties,
Long-leggety beasties,
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us.
-Anonymous
The ghosts of all things past parade,
Emerging from the mist and shade
That hid them from our gaze,
And, full of song and ringing mirth,
In one glad moment of rebirth,
And again they walk the ways of earth
As in the ancient days.
-John Kendrick Bangs
Have you picked out your Halloween costume yet? Bought bags and bags of candy? Are you planning a horror-filled party this season? What about carving a pumpkin or visiting a haunted house?
Halloween is chock full of so many fun and festive traditions, but how did we ever come to celebrate this time? Why is it all about ghosts and goblins and horror? Question no more, here you’ll find the scoop and the skinny. From skeletons to bobbing for apples, we’ve explained the reason for the season!
The History of Halloween
Over 2000 years ago, Celts in Europe (the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France) celebrated the Druid festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). Roughly translated, Samhain means “the end of summer”. The Druids believed that the year had two parts, the time of light and the time of darkness. Samhain was the date that marked the end of the light half of the year and beginning of the dark half. (Beltane is the celebration that welcomes the light half of the year and the festival of the beginning of spring and summer.) Many believe that this was the most significant holiday to the Druids as their beliefs dictated that all beginnings came from dark silence. During Samhain, the Druids believed that the line between life and death became blurred and spirits were enabled to walk the earth. The dead were celebrated and divination was rampant.
When the Romans conquered these countries, Samhain was combined with the autumn Roman holidays of Feralia and Pomona. During Feralia, the spirits of the dead were remembered and celebrated. Pomona was a festival for the Roman goddess of the same name. Pomona was the goddess of fruits and trees and she was symbolized by the apple.
With the arrival of Christianity to this area, Pope Boniface IV declared November 1st as Alholowmesse, which translates to “All Saint’s Day”. This day was intended to celebrate all saints and martyrs of the Catholic Church. Alholowmesse was eventually anglicized into the more commonly known holiday as All Hallows, thusly; October 31st became All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. In attempts to gain more Catholic followers from the Pagan and Roman traditions, the Catholic Church eventually added November 2nd to the holiday schedule. This day, known as All Souls Day was more akin to the older traditions of Samhain and Feralia, as the spirits of all the dead were memorialized.
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