Halloween

Halloween, celebrated every year on 31 October, is a blend of ancient Celtic practice, and Roman Catholic religious rituals and folk traditions of Europe are mixed together from time to time to make the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between autumn and winter, and lots and lack of life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been regarded as a day when the dead can come back to earth, and the ancient Celts would light a bonfire and wear costumes to ward off ghosts are roaming. Celtic holiday of Samhain, Hallowmas periods Catholic All Saints 'Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival Feralia all affect the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotations, the holiday-based children's more secular society. Although the beliefs and superstitions surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and nights colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter.

Ancient Origins of Halloween

the origin of Halloween dates back to ancient Celtic festival of Samhain

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, Britain and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. Today marks the end of summer and harvest and early winter, dark and cold, time of year often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it is believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing disruption and damage to crops, Celts thought that the presence of the spirits world making it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For people who are entirely dependent on the volatile nature, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the winter, long and dark.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfire, where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and try to tell their fortune. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.