October
31st is known today as the day and night of Halloween. However, it
wasn’t always known as Halloween. In fact, October 31st use to be
for a holiday tradition the ancient Celts (who lived over 2,000 years ago in
Ireland and the UK) called Samhain
(pronounced “Sam-Haine”). This night was named after the demon, Samhain.
This demon was believed to be very evil and powerful and was feared by the
Celts. Samhain was the first night of the year when the Celts believed that the
“veil” between the two worlds of the living and the dead was thinnest. The
believed all dead spirits, good and evil, were able to cross back-and-forth
between the two worlds freely and effortlessly. Also, for them, this was the
night the Celtic priests (called Druids) were strongest and able to make more
accurate predictions of the future. People during this time believed that the
demon, Samhain, would rise from hell on this night and cause havoc and spread diseases
with the other spirits who would follow him. In order to hide from him and the
other spirits, people wore masks to disguise themselves and blend in with the
evil spirits (this is where the idea of dressing up in costumes on Halloween came
from).
Halloween
later became the modernized version of Samhain when Christian missionaries attempted
to alter the religious custom, tradition, and ways of the Celtic people.
Churches saw this day as a day of pure evil and association with the devil. By
the 800’s the pope replaced the Celt’s tradition by naming this day as All Saints’
Day which later evolved to All Hollow’s Eve, then Hallowe'En and eventually, Halloween.
By the year 1000, All Saints’ Day got moved to November 2nd. This
day was celebrated much like Samhain was, with bonfires and festivals and
costumes. Then eventually, All Saint’ Day, All hollow’s Eve and everything got
evolved and squished together (since the customs were all very similar) and
became one big event now know as Halloween.
Sources:
Wow, Halloween started out really scary! I had no idea it was so intense and spiritual :O Do you think Halloween has sort of become a joke now compared to what it once was?
ReplyDeleteIt is very cool to see the development of these holidays and what they used to be and what they have now become. Or how people celebrate them today compared to how they were celebrated in the past.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that it is okay for little children to be participating in this event if it had such a dark meaning? Or have we totally backed away from the Celt's meaning?
ReplyDelete