Since we were children, we’ve been celebrating the spirit of Halloween by dressing up in scary costumes, walking from house to house, collecting various assortments of candy and chanting the famously known phrase “Trick or Treat!” But can any of us recall the true reason as to why we celebrate this day? Growing up I always believed that October 31 was a day for children to have fun and dress up, but there’s more to this day than just wearing a spooky costume.
According to history.com, Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death (halloweenhistory.org).
Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To honor this event, Celts built huge bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic Gods. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
However, the history of Halloween has evolved. With a modern day twist on costumes and traditions such as trick-or-treating; Halloween has become a celebration of fun and creativity for people all over the world. Other common names to describe Halloween in past history were “Day of the Dead,” “Beggars Night” and “All Saints Day.” Although this day has took on another face in terms of how we celebrate here in the U.S., there are still those who believe and uphold the true traditions of Samhain.
So now that you have some background knowledge of what Halloween is all about, you don’t have to wonder why you’re dressing up as a ghost, vampire, or other supernatural monsters.
Photo credit: http://taholtorf.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/31-days-of-ghosts-the-origins-…