Why Do We Celebrate Halloween - The
Spookiest Holiday Of The Year
by Nicola Kennedy
Halloween is full of costumes and
candy, trick-or-treating and terrifying haunted houses,
pumpkins and black cats. But just where did Halloween come
from? Why are we celebrating?
The history of Halloween goes back 2000 years. Many believe
that Halloween's origins are found in the Celtic festival of
Samhain. The Celts, who were located in Ireland, the UK and the
northern parts of France, celebrated their New Year on the
first of November. Samhain was celebrated the night before the
New Year.
The New Year, Celts believed, marked summer's end, harvest
time, and the start of dark, cold winter months. Those winter
months were associated with death by these people. On October
31, the night before the New Year, the Celts celebrated
Samhain. This day, they believed, was when the ghosts of the
deceased returned to earth because the boundaries between the
living world and the dead world blurred.
When we think of "Trick-Or-Treating", the origins can probably
be found in the English All Souls' Day parades. During these
celebrations, the poor would come out and beg for food from the
more wealthy families. When the families gave them pastries
called "soul cakes", they asked for the poor to pray for their
relatives that had passed away.
Another possibility that may have grown into
"Trick-Or-Treating" is the tradition of people leaving bowls of
food in front of their homes. They did this to keep the ghosts
that were wandering the earth from entering.
Dressing in costumes has a couple possible origins. European
and Celtic people both felt winter was a frightening time. It
was cold, it was darker, and the possibility of running out of
food was great. When they reached the time when they thought
the dead returned, they thought they might encounter these
ghosts whenever they left their houses. The wearing of masks
and costumes grew from these people donning masks so the ghosts
would not recognize them!
This holiday was brought to the US by Scotch and Irish
immigrants in the 1800s. At that time, much of the "spookiness"
of the holiday was removed and a sense of community and fun
were added. Although scary themes are still the focus of many
Halloween celebrations, that scariness is done for fun, not
because of actual fear.
Halloween is currently the 2nd largest commercial holiday!
About the author:
Nicola enjoys celebrating Halloween with her family. Visit
her
Halloween site for tips about Home made Halloween Costumes at
http://Homemade-Halloween-Costumes.Best-Halloween.com
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