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| It's October 31st, Halloween. A time when children can dress up as ghosts, monsters, animals, athletes, or other things. A time when people snuggle up in bed and scare themselves watching horror movies while eating popcorn. On the afternoon of Halloween, many schools allow younger children to wear their costumes to class. Some schools have Halloween parties, and costume parades. Some have contests to pick the children with the best costumes. Some children go out to trick-or-treat on Halloween. They go from door to door, ring doorbells and collect candy. In many towns and cities now, children don't go out to trick-or-treat. It is considered unsafe, so instead, towns put on big parties. Some people drink apple cider and dunk for apples in tubs of water. Some people sit around bonfires outside and tell ghost stories about ghosts and witches, some true, and some not. After all, that's what Halloween is all about!... or is it? Since most Holidays honor famous people or celebrate important events, what started this strange holiday that seems to "honor" witches and ghosts? Halloween wasn't always a children's "fun" holiday. At one time, it was a very serious and rather frightening event. Thousands of years ago, in England, Scotland, Ireland, and some other places, the day that is now November 1 was the beginning of the new year. People also thought of this day as the start of winter. They called it "Summer's End." People believed there was a sort of war between winter, with it's cold and darkness, and summer, with it's bright, long days and pleasant greenery. They felt that at Summer's End, the "army" of winter-ghosts, goblins, witches, and other evil creatures-grew very srong. The night before Summer's End, October 31, became a frightening time. People were sure that all wicked creatures would be out celebrating-and might attack them. To protect themselves, people held a special ceremonies. They built big bonfires on hilltops to light up the night. They put on masks and animal skins. They hoped that their strange "costumes" would keep the evil creatures from knowing who they were. Hundreds of years later, the Christian religion came to these countries. November 1 became a Christian holiday known as All Saints' Day or All Hallow's Day. Hallow means "holy", and this was the day to honor all the holy ones, or saints, especially those who had no days of their own. The night before all Hallow's Day, October 31, became known as All Hallow's E'en (e'en is an old way of saying "evening"). After a time, it was shortened to Halloween. Many people, especially in England, kept up some of the old Summer's End customs. Even after thousands of years had passed, people remembered that ghosts, goblins, and witches were supposed to be most powerful on Halloween. They also remembered that this was a night on which people had once put on special costumes. This is why people in America and the British Isles think of Halloween as a time of ghosts and monsters, and it is why American children wear costumes on Halloween. October 31 was once a time of terror, but now it's just a night of spooky fun. |
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