Halloween: The History
by Everybody knows about Halloween, but when asked, nobody knows where it came from. Halloween dates back to the Celts.
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Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (sow-in)
The Celt’s, who lived more than 2,000 years ago, celebrated their new year on November 1st. This marked the end of the summer and harvest, and the beginning of the winter, which was filled with human death. They believed that the night before their new year, the boundary between the living world and the dead diminished. So on October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the spirits of the dead returned to the living world. The Celts believed that the spirits damaged crops and caused trouble. It was also believed that the spirit’s presence made it easier for the Druids to predict the future. The predictions were important to the Celts because they gave them comfort during the long, cold winter.
The Druids built large bonfires to celebrate Samhain. The Celts burned crops and livestock in these bonfires as offer to the Celtic gods.
For the celebration, the Celts wore costumes that represented animals, and tried to tell one another’s fortunes.
By A.D. 49 the Romans had conquered the Celts. During the course of 400 years the celebration of Samhain combined with two Roman festivals, Feralia and a day to honor Pomona. Pomona is the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona’s symbol is an apple, which could explain why people today “bob for apples”.
By the 800’s Christianity spread to much of the Celtic lands. In the seventh century, November 1st was named “All Saints’ Day”. It was widely believe that this was an attempt to cover up the Celtic tradition of honoring the dead. The celebration was called All-Hallows and All-Hallowmas, and eventually All-Hallows Eve. This is where the name Halloween comes from.
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