Halloween: A Spooky Tradition
according to the August 2005 report from www.overture.com
Goblins, ghouls, ghosts, pumpkins, costumes, and candy. Just what is the link between all of these staples of Halloween? What transformed this pagan ritual into a commercial celebration? With Halloween just around the corner, let's see just how it evolved to what it has become today.
At one time, the British Isles were inhabited by the Celts. About 2,000 years ago, November 1st marked both the first day of winter and the Celtic new year. To celebrate the event, the festival of Samhain was held, which began on their New Year's Eve — which occured, as it were, on October 31st. Because winter was closely associated with misery, gloom and death, it was believed that, during this time, the spirits of the dead rose and ambulated among the living.
The Celts believed that the presence of spirits helped the Druids make predictions about the future, but feared that these spirits could harm the crops, and cause assorted other troubles. For this reason, it was important to make good with the otherworldly specters. So people would place food outside their doors to attract good spirits.
In order to keep the bad ones away, the Celts would wear scary masks — a tradition that continues to this day. Druids would also light bonfires to keep spirits from playing tricks on humans.
Years later, when the Roman Empire conquered the British Isles, they tried to add a few of their own traditions to the Samhain celebration, most notably by making the festival about their goddesses. To this day, it is believed that the bobbing apple party game is directly influenced by Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.
During the Middle Ages, when Christianity was being implemented in the Celtic lands, Pope Boniface IV proclaimed November 1st to be All Saints Day, a time to pay tribute to those martyrs and saints without designated holidays. At that time, the Church was fearful of pagan ceremonies and wanted to put into practice a ritual that would be accepted by the Vatican.
current halloween practicesIn middle English, the term for All Saints' Day is Alholowmesse, or All-hallowmas. The preceding night was referred to as All-hallows Eve. Before long, the word evolved into Halloween.
So just how did our modern traditions come about? In England, November 2nd was All Souls' Day, a church-sanctioned day to honor the dead. On this day, a parade was held and poor people would beg for food. Those who were richer would give them pastries called soul cakes, in exchange for the beggars' promises to pray for the family's deceased relatives.
This was called "going a-souling" and, in time, this custom was adopted by children who would go door-to-door asking for money and food. Thus began the tradition of trick-or-treating.
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