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Halloween: Today's beloved customs have roots far back in history


Most of the stuff we think of when we think of Halloween – the candy, the outlandish costumes, the scariness – has a long history.About 2,000 years ago, the Celts lived in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. They celebrated their New Year's on Nov. 1, a day they saw as a demarcation line between summer and winter. The last day of the year, (their version of New Year's Eve), was marked with the festival of Samhain (Sah-ween), their biggest and most significant holiday. The thinking was that during that night, the souls of everybody who died during the previous year traveled into the otherworld.These souls, in the form of ghosts, fairies and spirits, could be mischievous and play tricks on the living. Their presence, the Celts believed, made it easier for their priests, or druids, to make predictions about the coming year. Here's how some of their traditions became ours:

RELIGION

Halloween, Celt-style, was adapted more than 1,000 years ago by the Catholic Church, which lined up its holy days with native holy days as a way to spread Christianity. By establishing an All Saints' Day on Nov. 1, the church effectively assimilated an existing pagan rite as a Christian one. All Saints Day was called All Hallows because hallowed meant sanctified or holy.

‘HALLOWEEN'

So why call it Halloween? Well, depending on which history you read (or believe) the evening before All Hallows was called All Hallows Eve or All-Hallow-even or Hallow ‘Een or Hallowe'.

MASQUERADING

During the festival of Samhain, the Celts disguised themselves as ghosts, spirits or demons to avoid the risen souls. These masked villagers paraded down the main street to get the souls to move out of town. The church wasn't successful at banishing these parades, so they co-opted the tradition by encouraging people to dress up as saints, angels and devils. BONFIRESSacred bonfires during Samhain helped send the souls of the dead on their journeys. The Celts burned their crops and made sacrifices in the bonfire. On the morning of Nov. 1, they would relight the fire and use it to light their hearth fires for protection during the coming winter. Today, in some areas, bonfires remain a Halloween tradition. Sacrifices, however, are strongly discouraged.

TRICK-OR-TREATING

Food and drink was set outside the home at Samhain to placate unhappy souls and stave off their penchant for breaking and entering. The Catholic Church converted this tradition, getting families to make "soul cakes" for the poor. In return, the poor promised to pray for the families' dead. This was called "going a-souling.” And through the centuries – and the marvels of American consumerism – it became tradition for kids to pig out on candy.GHOSTSDo ghosts exist? The Celts though so. And ghosts still play a part in contemporary society. According to the Internet Movie Database, half of the top 10 moves with the highest box office receipts worldwide had ghosts and/or witches in them.

WITCHES

The early church associated pagan deities with the devil. Druids, Celtic priests, were considered evil worshippers and branded as witches. However, the witch costume found in many stores has been crafted by popular culture. Two famous Hollywood witches are the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and the witch in Disney's “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." APPLESDunking for apples at Halloween? The Celts were conquered by the Romans, who honored Pomona, their goddess of orchards (not the local city), with a Nov. 1 feast of apples, nuts and grapes. When the Romans conquered the Celtic territories, their celebrations merged. Apples and nuts became part of Samhein. Whoever could snag an apple from a bucket filled with water with their hands tied behind the back, were thought to be the next to wed.

PUMPKIN/JACK-O'-LANTERN

In Britain, carved out turnips with candles inside were used as lanterns. These lanterns were placed on posts or in windows to ward off evil spirits. But, in America, turnip carving gave way to pumpkin carving because pumpkins are bigger and easier to carve. The idea of carving faces on pumpkins goes back to the Irish legend of "Stingy Jack," a greedy, gambling, hard-drinking farmer who allegedly tricked the devil on several occasions. When Jack died, God wouldn't allow him in heaven, and the devil wouldn't allow him into hell. So a curse doomed Jack to wander the earth at night forever. And, to light his way, he carved a large turnip and put a lit coal inside it.
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/life/span-style-bold-1912286-font-weight

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