The Origin Of Halloween What is Halloween really about?
By reading on, you will discover the truths about this evil celebration that people in our country are starting to embrace every 31st October, without knowing what they are really celebrating or taking part of. We have selected links from various sources that we find really informative regarding Halloween practices and compiled the information below. Please note that we do not endorse all the information or the links relating to the information found below. Just 'eat the hay but spit out the sticks'. You'll find that some sites below differ in opinion. As with most ancient customs, finding authentic sources is not very easy. We would encourage you to form your own opinions. What does the word 'Halloween' mean? Excerpt from: http://got.net/~seasons/halloween.html All Saints Day came to be called "All Halloweds" since it was a day to worship all the "hallowed ones", the Christian dead. Since Samhain always occurred the evening before All halloweds, it came to be called "All Halloweds Evening" or just "Halloweds E'en." From this it evolved to "Hallows E'en" and, finally, to "Halloween" as we know it today. What is Halloween about and when did it begin?
Excerpt from: http://ohoh.essortment.com/halloweentrivia_rzls.htm Halloween or All Hallows Eve, originated from the Pagan Holiday Samhain (pronounced sow-wen). Its name means summers end. This spirit connotation originated as the ancient Celtic druids paid tribute with gifts and food (and sometimes it was rumored sacrifices) to the spirit world to insure that next year’s crop would be bountiful. It was a time for communicating with the dead and receiving wisdom from past ancestors to insure prosperity. When the Christians set about to convert the pagans, some adaptation of these spiritual rituals had to be made to keep the Pagans in the Church. Therefore, November 1st became “All Saints Day” to honor all those in heaven and October 31st was tacked on as “All Hallows Eve” or Halloween, the night when all the dead are remembered. Excerpt from: http://got.net/~seasons/halloween.html In the eighth century the Pope, in an attempt to get the people to abandon the festival of Samhain and all its occult, idolatrous practices, established All Saints Day on November 1st. This was never a Christian holiday, but a Catholic holiday to worship and pray to the Saints who were dead, which is idolatry, even though they were honoring those who had been martyrs in the terrible Roman persecutions. He apparently hoped that the similarity of meaning would cause the people to accept All Saints Day as a substitute and abandon the Festival of Death. But it didn't work. As a matter of fact, this attempt to end Samhain follows us and causes trouble to this day, because its location on the calender has led many people to believe that Samhain is a Christian observance. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Even
as far back as 300 years before the birth of Jesus, the
Celtic civilization celebrated the Festival of Samhain on
October 31st. Samhain is their God of Death and their
most powerful god. Every year on this day, they believe,
the old year dies and the new year begins. It is the
Celtic New Year, as well as the Festival of Samhain, the
Festival of Death. He is particularly honored on this
day, but more especially on this night; and the great
climatic moment will come at midnight. Darkness, fear and
death prevail; many human sacrifices are to be presented
to Samhain, and midnight is the high moment of the year
for divination, spiritism and sorcery of all kinds.
Darkness is deepest, and death more sovereign tonight
than at any other time of the year, and midnight is the
climax. Trick or Treating
Excerpt from: http://ohoh.essortment.com/halloweentrivia_rzls.htm Trick or Treat, or going from house to house to ask for gifts, was said to have originated in England, where peasant children, dressed in rags like prisoners, would beg for coins or treats as a token of remembrance of a man, Guy Fawkes, who was drawn and quartered after attempting to blow up the British government offices. However, Halloween did not become an American “Hallmark Holiday’ until the 20th century. It evolved from children going next door for a treat to parents driving around carloads of children looking for choice neighborhoods to “get loot.” Homemade costumes gave way to boxed sets with masks and accessories. Nowadays, costumes of the latest super heroes or horror figures are on the shelves in August, a far cry from the rag costumes of old. Excerpt from: http://got.net/~seasons/halloween.html The Druids of old adhered to strange
dietary restrictions, and on the night of the Festival of
Death they go from home to home demanding these peculiar
foods. If the people comply, they pass on in silence; if
their demands are not met, the people and their home are
cursed with trouble, sickness and death. Jack-O'-Lantern
Excerpt from: http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/TLresources/longterm/LessonPlans/Byrnes/halloween.html The Irish brought Jack-O'-Lantern to America. Jack was a legendary, stingy drunkard. He tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree for a juicy apple and then quickly cut the sign of the cross into the tree trunk, preventing the Devil from coming down. Jack made the Devil swear that he wouldn't come after his soul in any way. The Devil promised. However, this did not prevent Jack from dying. When he arrived at the gates of heaven, he was turned away because he was a stingy, mean drunk. Desperate for a resting place, he went to the Devil. The Devil, true to his word, turned him away. "But where can I go?" pleaded Jack. "Back where you come from," spoke the Devil. The night was dark and the way was long, and the Devil tossed him a lighted coal from the fire of Hell. Jack, who was eating a turnip at the time, placed the coal inside and used it to light his way. Since that day, he has traveled the world over with his Jack-O'-Lantern in search of a place to rest. Irish children carved out turnips and potatoes to light the night on Halloween. When the Irish came to America in great numbers in the 1840s, they found that a pumpkin made an even better lantern, and so this "American" tradition came to be. Excerpt from: http://got.net/~seasons/halloween.html Hundreds of years before Christ, on
Halloween night each Druid dressed in hooded robes and
has slung over his shoulder on a cord, a large,
hallowed-out turnip with an oil lamp burning inside.
Carved into the side of the hollow turnip is as face, the
likeness of the demon spirit that dwells inside. This
spirit is the Druid's spirit guide, his personal little
god, who directs and empowers his life. Apple Bobbing
Excerpt from: http://got.net/~seasons/halloween.html Since Samhain was the beginning of
the new year, much divining was done concerning the
coming year, and many things were done to invoke
"good luck" (which meant finding favor with the
evil spirts) for the coming year. A very popular form of
this was to kneel around a tub of water with apples
floating in it, and the first one who could get one out
without using hands or teeth would have good favor with
the spirits in the coming year. Then each woud peel his
(or her) apple, trying to get the peel off in one piece
(which gave the peeling particular power, and gained
special favor with the spirits). Bonfires
Excerpt from: http://got.net/~seasons/halloween.html Originally
came from these nights of human and animal sacrifices
where they would throw the remains of the bodies into the
fire. The next morning all that was left were the ashes
and bones. Thus the name of these fires were called
"bonefires". ~ LINKS ~ Halloween Origin, Folklore and
Trivia Graphics and Backgrounds on this page are found in the graphic links below.
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