Halloween

Well, it's Halloween time again. So I've decided to tell a little bit about the history of Halloween.


The word "Halloween" is derived from Hallowe'en, an old contraction, still retained in Scotland and some parts of Canada, of "All Hallow's Eve." Why was it called that? Because it is the day before All Saints day, which used to be called "All Hallows," derived from All Hallowed Souls. In Mexico, All Saint's Day is the Day of the Dead. All Hallow's Eve originally was a pagan festival of the dead. It has survived to the present in American culture a night of trick or treat by children and dressing up in costumes of fantasy or the supernatural. All Hallows Eve is observed as the night of October 31.

Halloween was once called the festival Samhain (pronounced sow, an) by the Celts. Samhain means "end of summer". It was observed as a time to celebrate the onset of winter and the beginning of the Celtic New Year. In Ireland the festival was known as Samhein, or La Samon, for the Feast of the Sun. In Scotland, it was known as Hallowe'en.

During the height of the druids, the priestly caste of the Celts, all fires except those of the Druids were extinguished on Samhain. All other fires were extinguished and relit by the sacrificial fire. The veil between the living and the dead was believed to be its thinnest in that time of the year. It was believed that this made communication between the living and the dead much easier. In order to attract spirits, food was left on the doors. To scare off the evil spirits, the Celts wore masks.