Halloween; a holiday where we get dressed up in costumes and go ask for candy. Sounds like a great holiday to me. But where did it all begin?
An ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. It’s when people would wear costumes and have bonfires to ward off ghosts. This was celebrated on October 31st when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. They believed that on the night of the new year (Which they celebrated on November 1st) the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
The in the 8th century, the Pope had designated November 1st as All Saints Day, a time to honor all saints. By the 9thcentury the church made November 2nd All Souls Day, a day to honor the dead. This was believed to be a way to replace the Celtic festival as they were celebrated in similar manners.
All Hallows Eve, now known as Halloween, is still celebrated the day before All Saint’s Day.
It wasn’t until 1846 that Halloween came to America. They followed the concept of dressing up but would go around asking for candy, instead of asking for bread in exchange for prayers (which is what happened in the UK and Ireland). This is what we know as Trick-or-Treating.
There are more to the stories, but I didn’t want to talk your ear off. Here is a link if you do want to check out more! Halloween: Origins, Meaning & Traditions - HISTORY
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