Halloween

The American version of Halloween owes its origin to the ancient (pre-christian) Druidic fire festival called “Samhain.” According to legend, On that night it is said that disembodied spirits of those who died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. The Celts believed that all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living. Because the still-living did not want to be possessed, the villagers on the night of October 31, would extinguish the fires in their homes to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in ghoulish costumes and noisily parade around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to scare away the spirits looking for bodies to possess.

Halloween named after all hallows eve is the night before the “all hallows” is observed on November 1^st. Hallow, in old English, meant sanctify. Christians would observe All Hallows Day to honor all saints in heaven. It was one of the most significant observances of the church year. Pope Boniface IV introduced the All Saints Day in order to replace the pagan festival of the dead. This was originally celebrated on May 13^th, but was later moved to November 1^st by Gregory III.