In ancient times, long before the middle ages, a group of people that we refer to today as Druids (also know as Celts) existed in what is now Great Britain. They celebrated the passing of one season to the next while at the same time they would reflect in remembrance of their dead. One such festival was called the feast of Samhain. This festival celebrated the harvest season and lasted late October through early November. It was also believed that this was the time of year that the worlds of the living and the dead came the closest and that there may be doorways opened to either side at this time. Actually many ancient societies and countries celebrated the fall harvest in some form or other. But it seems we attach what Halloween is today with the Druids.
Well, after a while different cultures and religions throughout time seemed to adopt both the celebration and dates of Samhain. Even after the destruction and holocaust of the ancient Druids and Celts (thanks to the Roman Empire), the holiday continued to morph, yet still be celebrated at the end of October.
Christianity changed the celebration into All Hallows Day (today it’s called All Saints Day) and celebrated on November 1st. The night before All Saints Day they called Eve of All Hallows. Ya see where this is headin’? They then changed that name to All Hallows Even which of course evolved into Hallowe’en.
Many of the immigrants and settlers that arrived here in America in the 1700’s also brought over many of the ideals of the harvest holidays of ancient times. However the puritanical fervor that influenced the time period put the ol’ kee-bosh on anything remotely “Pagan” in ritual for a couple hundred years there after. Thus Hallowe’en fell to the wayside.
Halloween traditions started to spring back up here in America during the Victorian age when people would throw quaint little parties which mostly consisted of imaginative games such as, bobbing for apples to see who would get married first, or jumping over candles for good luck, or divination games to see what their futures held.
These parties became more elaborate as years went on. Many times the hostess would turn her home into a bit of a spook house for her guests to experience. The house would be lit by fireplaces, candles and Jack-O-Lanterns only. Sometimes the hostess would have some sort of frightening prop set up in the main foyer to greet the guests.
Slowly, but surely, the Halloween we know and love today sprouted form the Victorian age with traditions like, Trick or Treating, Haunted Houses and costume parties. More of the macabre fell into tune with the holiday.
Today the holiday is commercialized with Halloween cards, Halloween decorations, Halloween TV specials, Halloween candy, it goes on and on. During the season, it’s everywhere. But, unlike the commercialization of Christmas, the commercialization of Halloween isn’t a bad thing. It gives us more materials and ideas to do up the holiday in grand style.
Zangz
