Tarnak
Naked Thief
http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/10/19/4536d584daabf
As Halloween quickly approaches and children and adults alike scramble to put together costumes in preparation for the spooky holiday, it made me wonder about how all of this got started.
Why are we carving pumpkins, dressing up and handing out candy at the end of every October? It turns out this tradition has been going on for more than 2,000 years.
The origins of the holiday we all now know of as Halloween can be traced back to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. The Celts celebrated their new year on Nov. 1, so the night prior, Oct. 31, was when they believed that the worlds of the living and dead blended together.
They may have believed this because this was the time of year when the weather got colder and their harvests were over, resulting in a higher mortality rate. Either way, on the night of Oct. 31 the Celts believed that the dead came back to earth to make trouble.
The night before their new year, the Celts would make sacrifices of crops and animals to their deities in a large bonfire. During the sacrifices everyone dressed in costumes of animal heads and skins.
By A.D. 43 the Romans had conquered most of the areas of Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France - the lands of the Celts. During the time that the Romans ruled, two of their festivals were combined with Samhain. One of the Roman holidays was Feralia. It occurred on a day late in October and was basically a holiday to recognize the passing of the dead.
The other Roman holiday Pomona, also occurring in October, was a celebration of the goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona was represented by an apple. It is thought that the tradition of "bobbing for apples," comes from the old Roman celebration of Pomona.
Christianity had spread its influence over the once Celtic and then Roman lands by the 800s, and while the late October festivals continued to take place, Pope Boniface IV hoped to replace some of the meanings of them. He named Nov. 1 All Saints' Day as a day to honor martyrs and saints. The Christian celebration was also referred to as All-hallows or All-hallowmas, from the Middle English Alholowmesse, meaning All Saints' Day. The night before, the night of Samhain, began being referred to as All-hallows Eve. That name eventually was shortened and spelled Halloween.
In A.D. 1000, the church made Nov. 2 All Souls' Day to honor the dead. It was celebrated by dressing up like saints, angels and devils, burning large bonfires and having parades.
Halloween's roots come from such a mixture of cultures, from the Celtics to the Romans to Christians. It's hard to believe that as the shelves go bare in the costume and candy isles at local stores, we are all taking part in an ancient mix of celebrations.
As Halloween quickly approaches and children and adults alike scramble to put together costumes in preparation for the spooky holiday, it made me wonder about how all of this got started.
Why are we carving pumpkins, dressing up and handing out candy at the end of every October? It turns out this tradition has been going on for more than 2,000 years.
The origins of the holiday we all now know of as Halloween can be traced back to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. The Celts celebrated their new year on Nov. 1, so the night prior, Oct. 31, was when they believed that the worlds of the living and dead blended together.
They may have believed this because this was the time of year when the weather got colder and their harvests were over, resulting in a higher mortality rate. Either way, on the night of Oct. 31 the Celts believed that the dead came back to earth to make trouble.
The night before their new year, the Celts would make sacrifices of crops and animals to their deities in a large bonfire. During the sacrifices everyone dressed in costumes of animal heads and skins.
By A.D. 43 the Romans had conquered most of the areas of Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France - the lands of the Celts. During the time that the Romans ruled, two of their festivals were combined with Samhain. One of the Roman holidays was Feralia. It occurred on a day late in October and was basically a holiday to recognize the passing of the dead.
The other Roman holiday Pomona, also occurring in October, was a celebration of the goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona was represented by an apple. It is thought that the tradition of "bobbing for apples," comes from the old Roman celebration of Pomona.
Christianity had spread its influence over the once Celtic and then Roman lands by the 800s, and while the late October festivals continued to take place, Pope Boniface IV hoped to replace some of the meanings of them. He named Nov. 1 All Saints' Day as a day to honor martyrs and saints. The Christian celebration was also referred to as All-hallows or All-hallowmas, from the Middle English Alholowmesse, meaning All Saints' Day. The night before, the night of Samhain, began being referred to as All-hallows Eve. That name eventually was shortened and spelled Halloween.
In A.D. 1000, the church made Nov. 2 All Souls' Day to honor the dead. It was celebrated by dressing up like saints, angels and devils, burning large bonfires and having parades.
Halloween's roots come from such a mixture of cultures, from the Celtics to the Romans to Christians. It's hard to believe that as the shelves go bare in the costume and candy isles at local stores, we are all taking part in an ancient mix of celebrations.