Halloween
is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years.
The holiday we know as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures
over the centuries. From the Roman's Pomona Day, to the Celtic festival of
Samhain, to the Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days.
Hundreds
of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the
Celts. The Celts worshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as
their favorite. It was "he" who commanded their work and their
rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.
The
Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every
year with a festival and marked the end of the "season of the sun"
and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold."
On
October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long
winter the cooking fires in the homes would be extinguished. The Druids, the
Celtic priests, would meet in the hilltop in the dark oak forest (oak trees
were considered sacred). The Druids would light new fires and offer
sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the the fires, the
season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.
When
the morning arrived the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each
family who would then take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires
would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.
The
November 1st festival was called Samhain (pronounced "sow-en").
The festival would last for 3 days. Many people would parade in costumes
made from the skins and heads of their animals. This festival would become
the first Halloween.
During
the first century the Romans invaded Britain. They brought with them many of
their festivals and customs. One of these was the festival know as Pomona
Day, named for their goddess of fruits and gardens. It was also celebrated
around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule the
customs of the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed
becoming 1 major fall holiday.
The
next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout
Europe and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church would make
November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints. This day was called
All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Church would
make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor
the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing
up as saints, angels and devils.
But
the spread of Christianity did not make people forget their early customs.
On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31, people continued to celebrate the
festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customs from all
these holidays mixed. October 31st became known as All Hallow Even,
eventually All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, and then - Halloween.
The
Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Pomona Day's
apples, nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Samhain's black cats, magic, evil
spirits and death, and the ghosts, skeletons and skulls from All Saint's Day
and All Soul's Day.
(author
unknown to me)
