V6010007

Halloween is almost here, which doesn't really mean much to me except for the antics I have to go through at work to please the kids. Lots of people have been asking me about the origin of Halloween (since I'm "foreign" it's assumed I know) and realizing I have no clue I have done some research. It seems that Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of "Samhain". The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred and as part of the celebration they would wear costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins. Later as Christianity spread into Celtic lands, November 1 was designated "All Saints' Day", a time to honor saints and martyrs. The celebration was also called "All-hallows" or "All-hallowmas" and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called "All-hallows Eve" and, eventually, "Halloween". So there you have it.

7 Comments