Halloween is a great time of the year because we get to go around to peoples houses and they give us candy. But the truth is there is much more to Halloween than getting more candy that we can possible eat.
The modern day Halloween is very different form the old traditional ancient Celtic New Year's celebration called Samhain. The history and traditions of Halloween go back for more than 2000 years were the Celtics would celebrate the end of the summer with Samhain and this festival fell on the day October 31st. The Celtics believed that this was a day of the rise of the dead, they thought that the non living would rise from the dead and consume peoples souls.
To protect themselves the Celts would dress up as ghost and goblins so they could scare away all evil spirits. They would also build massive fires and offer sacrifices so the demons. It is easy to see how many of these old and ancient traditions are still practiced today.
The Irish brought the fun of the Halloween to the United States around 1840. The current day trick or treat is were you dress up as your favorite character and go from house to house asking for treats but it also dates back to the Irish. When there was the great potato famine the poor Irish would go to the rich and beg for money and food and if they refused they would be threatened that the evil spirits would come and destroy them. So a lot of these rich people would prepare goody bags to give the people who would come to visit them so to save there souls.
The modern day Halloween has many similarities to the ancient old day rituals. Halloween is looked upon today as a fun holiday were children will get together with other neighborhood kids and they will see who can accumulate the most candy. Then when the parents and kids get home they will split the candy and have a night of enjoyment.
Another thing that is very popular is to visit a haunted house on Halloween. You can check within your city to see were the best haunted house is. This can be a great way to celebrate the Halloween festival and at the same time get very scared.
The name Halloween comes from the word All hallow even which basically means the day before All Saints Day. It was originally considered by many as a European Pagan Holiday
There are many symbols that represent Halloween and one of the most popular is the pumpkin or better known as the jack-o'-lantern. The roots of this symbol go back to a Irish farmer who trapped Stingy Jack, who was an old hard drinking farmer, into a tree and he carved a symbol into the tree and he was captured.
Remember that the roots of Halloween go back a long way but you should enjoy the modern day version with family and friends.
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Author Source: Bryan Burbank
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