As kids go from door to door and ask for treats on the eve of the first of November, one cannot help but think where Halloween practices came from.
Although common folklore associates with the dead and All Souls' Day with Halloween, there has to be a concrete history of how this holiday evolved.
Witches, skulls, monsters, darkness, spells, gooey substances, potions, and magic: all of these are the things we see during this festive occasion.
People hang jack-o'-lanterns, watch horror movies, share scary stories, and more.
But are these things and activities really the representation of Halloween's history? Or are these just the subset of the corruption of Halloween? Halloween is a derivative of All Hallows Eve.
Although the words even and eve are both abbreviations of evening, the word Halloween got its N in the word even because it is the eve of All Hallows Day.
Also called as All Hollows Eve and All Saints' Eve, October 31st marks the celebration of a no-Christian occasion that may trace its roots to Paganism.
Perhaps it is safe to say that Halloween may trace its origins to a Celtic festival called Samhain.
This is a festive season at the end of the harvest season on Gaelic culture.
This is also associated with the festival of the dead.
Scholars believe that Samhain is the beginning of a new Celtic year.
In Celtic calendar, the end of summer season is marked with a festival for the first three nights of the new month.
This festival became associated with the celebrati0on of All Souls' Day in the Roman Catholic Church, which was now turned into Halloween.
Samhain is also the Gaelic equivalent name of November.
Samhain was a time for ancient Celtic pagans to store or stock harvest.
They also slaughter livestock and store them for winter.
According to the Gaelic or Celtic belief, the 31st day of October dissolves the boundaries between the dead and the living.
During this time, the dead cause danger to the living because they bring sickness and diseases and damaged crops.
Pestilence also occurs in livestock.
In these festivals, bonfires were lit and the bones of the slaughtered animals were thrown in to the fire as a sacrifice.
It is on Hallows' Eve that Celts would practice traditions such as placing skeletons on their window sills.
This is a practice to represent their respect for their dead loved ones.
In Europe, lanterns were carved out of turnips, believing that then head is the most powerful part of the body.
The symbol of the head is believed to contain the spirit and knowledge of the departed ones.
These heads are also used to frighten evil spirits.
Although this does not represent the jack-o'-lantern, this certainly is its roots.
Halloween, essentially, has lost its original and ancient meaning.
Now, it has only become a multi-million dollar commercial activity that is celebrated by almost everyone.
It is unfortunate that a very serious and holy celebration of the ancient times is reduced to asking for candies.
Although common folklore associates with the dead and All Souls' Day with Halloween, there has to be a concrete history of how this holiday evolved.
Witches, skulls, monsters, darkness, spells, gooey substances, potions, and magic: all of these are the things we see during this festive occasion.
People hang jack-o'-lanterns, watch horror movies, share scary stories, and more.
But are these things and activities really the representation of Halloween's history? Or are these just the subset of the corruption of Halloween? Halloween is a derivative of All Hallows Eve.
Although the words even and eve are both abbreviations of evening, the word Halloween got its N in the word even because it is the eve of All Hallows Day.
Also called as All Hollows Eve and All Saints' Eve, October 31st marks the celebration of a no-Christian occasion that may trace its roots to Paganism.
Perhaps it is safe to say that Halloween may trace its origins to a Celtic festival called Samhain.
This is a festive season at the end of the harvest season on Gaelic culture.
This is also associated with the festival of the dead.
Scholars believe that Samhain is the beginning of a new Celtic year.
In Celtic calendar, the end of summer season is marked with a festival for the first three nights of the new month.
This festival became associated with the celebrati0on of All Souls' Day in the Roman Catholic Church, which was now turned into Halloween.
Samhain is also the Gaelic equivalent name of November.
Samhain was a time for ancient Celtic pagans to store or stock harvest.
They also slaughter livestock and store them for winter.
According to the Gaelic or Celtic belief, the 31st day of October dissolves the boundaries between the dead and the living.
During this time, the dead cause danger to the living because they bring sickness and diseases and damaged crops.
Pestilence also occurs in livestock.
In these festivals, bonfires were lit and the bones of the slaughtered animals were thrown in to the fire as a sacrifice.
It is on Hallows' Eve that Celts would practice traditions such as placing skeletons on their window sills.
This is a practice to represent their respect for their dead loved ones.
In Europe, lanterns were carved out of turnips, believing that then head is the most powerful part of the body.
The symbol of the head is believed to contain the spirit and knowledge of the departed ones.
These heads are also used to frighten evil spirits.
Although this does not represent the jack-o'-lantern, this certainly is its roots.
Halloween, essentially, has lost its original and ancient meaning.
Now, it has only become a multi-million dollar commercial activity that is celebrated by almost everyone.
It is unfortunate that a very serious and holy celebration of the ancient times is reduced to asking for candies.
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