Halloween
The origin of
Halloween dates back to the Celtic festival of fire, Samhain
( pronounced sow-in ).
The Celts celebrated their New Year on the 1st of November. This day marked
the end of summer and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year
that was often associated with death. They believed that on the night before
the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead
became blurred and the spirits of the dead returned to earth.
To commemorate the event, the Druids built huge sacred bonfires, to give strength to the sun and to scare away any mischievous spirits. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.
In the seventh century, as Christianity spread in to Britain, the Catholic church designated the 1st day of November as All Saints' Day, a time to honour saints and martyrs. The church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was called All-hallows or All-hallowmas ( from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day ) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
In the eleventh century, the church made the 2nd November All Souls' Day, a day to honour the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas
