I’m three days late but here is my first post about Halloween! For me, the entire month of October consists of celebrating Halloween (Samhain) whether by building an altar, watching scary movies or carving pumpkins. This is a great time of year to celebrate the changing of seasons and have a bit of fun!
Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Day, Samhain, October 31st and November 1st mark a turn in the seasons, a time of year for harvest and awareness for the thinning of the veil between this world and the next. Ghosts, ghouls, goblins, everyone comes out to celebrate this special time of year.
A little bit of history about Halloween,
Halloween originally comes from The Celts annual celebration of Samhain, a time of harvest as well as the start of winter. The Celts lived in Europe around two millennia ago. The Celts, druids, would have bonfires and sacrifice animals to the gods.
With the spread of Christianity, the ancient druid religious practices were absorbed and ultimately synthesized with Christian practices. This synthesis includes All Saints Day, which historically changed dates until finally settling on November 1st. This holiday is one of respect and worship towards the Saints and Martyrs of the past.
Finally, for Americans (U.S.), Halloween didn’t fully take off until after Irish Immigrants fled Ireland due to the Potato Famine (a.k.a Great Famine) that happened in the mid-1800’s. This famine was responsible for an estimated one million deaths and the incredible decline in Irelands population (Britannica.com).
Halloween really became more of a “community” celebration in the 1800’s that included costumes and neighborhood parties (history.com). Celebrating Samhain, then All Hallow’s Eve toned down the ancient traditions of sacrifice and bonfires into a more family-friendly holiday. By the 1900’s Halloween became a more established “mainstream” holiday that became increasingly geared towards youths. Finally around the 1940’s the “Trick or Treat” phrase would be born (deliriumsrealm.com).
Thank you for reading!
Coming up next:
My Halloween (Movie/Tv Shows) Recommendations In Progress