The
origin of Halloween go back very far to the ancient Celts. The Celts lived in the British
Isles during ancient times. The last day of year on the old pagan calendar, October 31st
, served
the triple purpose of bidding goodbye to summer, welcoming winter and remembering the
dead. This day was called "Samhain". On the evening of October 31st
and the day of November 1st, the Celtic priest called Druids, used to honour
Samhain, the god of death. According to Celtic legend, Samhain controlled the spirit of
the deads and could allow them to rest peace fully or make them go wild on this night. The
Celtic believed that on the night of October 31st, ghosts
come out of their tombs. The spirit of
dead returned to heart. Druids made big fire to frighten the spirit of evil and death. On
October 31st, they also predicted the future. The Celtic people dressed in
scary costumes to frighten the evil spirits. They dressed as witches, ghosts and skeletons. They also
played games to bring good luck in the new year.
After the Roman invasion in
43 AD, Samhain also became a harvest festival. Rome had a festival honouring the goddess
Pomona who ruled fruits and garden. The Romans pictured her as a beautiful maiden, her
arms filled with fruit and a crown of apples on her head. Nuts, fruits and apples were
part of the Samhain ceremonies. Apples were sacred and lucky.
The colours of Halloween are orange and black. They
represent the harvest (orange) and the death (black).
After the Roman invasion, Christian rites
substituted pagan rites. For the Christians the first day of November was the day of All
Saints. It was called All Allows Day (the day of All Saints). The evening of October 31st
was All Allows Eve. This was shortened to Halloween. The druid religion went on for
a long time in Ireland and Scotland. Halloween continued to be important in both places.
In XIX century, Irish immigrants brought their Halloween costumes to the United States.
Now Halloween is one of the biggest festivities in USA. The date is on every calendar.
