The Origin Of Halloween
October 31 is Halloween. All Hallows Eve. We all know about it – it’s a famous American holiday. Halloween began around two thousand years ago in the region that corresponds to Britain, Ireland and France. The people of this region were known as Celts and they believed that this time of year was the end of the season of harvesting and the beginning of the barren period of winter. People were obviously a little concerned with the cold months ahead and appeared to believe that supernatural forces needed to be placated to help everybody to get through the tough times. The last day of October was seen as a day where supernatural forces came in contact with the physical world. This gave people an opportunity to give the gods gifts in the form of crop and animal sacrifices but it was also a time where people became fearful of the spirits lurking in our world.
The Celtic region of the world came under Roman control in the year 43A.D. Over the four hundred years of Roman occupation the Celtic celebration at the beginning of winter became amalgamated with two Roman celebrations: one honoring the dead and one honoring the tree goddess, Pomona. As the Christian church became the spiritual authority in regions that formerly followed Roman traditions, an attempt was made to replace the “pagan” celebration with All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day which is November 2. The Middle English word for All Saints Day was “Alholowmesse” which later became All-hallowmas. This led to the old Roman celebration being called All-Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.
Nowadays it is impossible for us to relate to the living conditions that gave rise to festivals like Halloween. Today it is a time for kids to have fun and for adults to sell crappy merchandise.
This video gives a potted history of the modern celebration of Halloween.
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