Happy HalloweenWhat Does It Really Mean

Origins of Modern Halloween - What Are the Historical Roots of Our Halloween Celebrations?

2009-10-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Halloween has been celebrated in one form or another for over 2000 years, but how has it evolved over time to become the holiday we know today. What are the Origins Of Modern Halloween? It is certainly true that the festival of 2000 years ago bears little resemblance to the one we know today, but even in it's oldest form it still contains elements we will recognize.

Ancient Times

The original source of what has evolved into our modern Halloween holiday can be traced back over 2000 years to the Celts that lived in and around Ireland and England. They celebrated their new year on November 1st as they regarded this to be the end of summer and the beginning of the cold dark winter period, a time that to the Celtic people was strongly associated with death.

They believed that the night before the new year the boundaries between the living and the dead realm was at its weakest, and the spirits of the dead could roam the land of the living. On this night they held the pagan celebration Samhain pronounced sow-in, it literally means summers end.

During this celebration they would gather together in fields and build large fires called bon fires that were supposed to ward away the spirits of the dead. They would also dress up in animal skins and wear animal masks and tell each others fortunes. At the end of the night each would take embers from the fire to light their homes fire grate, they believed that a fire lit from the Samhain bon fire would keep them safe from death throughout the winter period.

Roman Occupation

When the Romans came to Britain in 40AD they occupied the Celtic lands, and over the next 400 years of their rule the roman festivals of Feralia, when Romans celebrated the passing of the dead, and Pomona a celebration for the goddess of the same name, grew to replace Samhain. The goddess Pomona is the roman goddess of fruit and trees often associated with apples, the incorporation of this into Samhain is thought to be why the tradition of bobbing for apples has become associated with the Halloween celebration.

Christian Influences

By the 7th century Christianity had spread to the Celtic lands and it was during this time that Pope Boniface IV founded all saints day, to be held on the 1st day of November. It was a day that celebrated all the saints that didn't already have a day associated with them. The choice of day was no accident and is widely believed to be an attempt by the church to replace the pagan holiday with a christian one, much as they did with Easter (pagan festival of Ostara/Eostre), and Christmas (pagan festival of Yule). In the language of the time all saints day was called Alholowmesse, this evolved over time into all - hallowmas and then finally all hallows. The evening before this celebration was called all hallows eve which became Halloween.

Conclusion

Each period in history has added their own contribution to the evolution of our modern celebration, all leading to the fun lighthearted day that we enjoy today. I hope this short history of the Evolution of our Halloween holiday will help you to understand the traditions and Origins Of Modern Halloween, and will add to your enjoyment of this unique celebration.

You can find out more about the origins of modern Halloween and celebrate the holiday with a new perspective. It's roots are often dark and disturbing but also very informative and enlightening, just go to the real Halloween website for the full story.

Origins Of Modern Halloween

2009-10-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

About 2,000 years ago, in an area now known as Ireland, the Celts celebrated their new year on Nov. 1. It not only marked the end of summer and harvests, it signaled the beginning of the cold, dark winter, which was often associated with death.

Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of Oct. 31, when they celebrated Samhain, it was commonly believed that the ghosts of the dead came back to earth.

In addition to wreaking havoc and damaging crops, Celts thought the presence of these spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.

For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, normally made from animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.

When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the 400 years when they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead.

The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated Nov. 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs.

It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday.

The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.

Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make Nov. 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils.

Together, the celebrations, the eve of All Saints' and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Origins Of Halloween - Pomona

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Pomona was the uniquely Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards, and her festival, which she shared with her husband Vertumnus, was always on August 13th. Pomona watches over and protects fruit trees and cares for their cultivation, and Her name is from the Latin pomum, fruit. "Pomme" is the French word for "apple".

Pomona was among the Numina, guardian spirits of Roman mythology, who watched over people, places, or homes. The Numina are, in essence, the holy spirits of place, from which the word "numinous" derives. Pomona protected and inspired the abundance of the fruitful gardens and orchards. She had her own priest in Rome, called the Flamen Pomonalis. A grove sacred to her was called the Pomonal, located not far from Ostia, the ancient port of Rome.

Origins Of Halloween - Samhain

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Samhain (pronounced Sawin) is a festival held at the end of the harvest season in Gaelic and Brythonic cultures. The festival has aspects of a festival of the dead. Many scholars believe that it was the beginning of the Celtic year.

The term "Samhain" derives from the name of a month in the ancient Celtic calendar, in particular the first three nights of this month, with the festival marking the end of the summer season and the end of the harvest. The Gaelic festival became associated with the Catholic All Souls' Day, and appears to have influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween. Samhain is also the name of a modern festival in various currents of Neopaganism that are based on, or inspired by, Gaelic traditions.

Samhain and an t-Samhain are also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic names of November, respectively.

All Hallows' Day on November 1 followed by All Souls' Day, on November 2. Over time, the night of October 31 came to be called All Hallow's Eve, and the remnants festival dedicated to the dead eventually morphed into the secular holiday known as Halloween.

Origins Of Halloween - Feralia

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Feralia was an ancient Roman public festival celebrating the Manes (Roman spirits of the dead, particularly the souls of deceased individuals) which fell on the 21st of February as recorded by Ovid in Book II of his Fasti. This day marked the end of Parentalia, a nine day festival (13-21 February) honoring the dead ancestors. Roman citizens were instructed to bring offerings to the tombs of their dead ancestors which consisted of at least "an arrangement of wreathes, a sprinkling of grain and a bit of salt, bread soaked in wine and violets scattered about." Additional offerings were permitted, however the dead were appeased with just the aforementioned. These simple offerings to the dead were perhaps introduced into the Latium by Aeneas, who poured wine and scattered violet flowers on Anchises' tomb.Ovid tells of a time when Romans, in the midst of war, neglected Feralia, which prompted the spirits of the departed to rise from their graves in anger, howling and roaming the streets. After this event, tribute to the tombs were then made and the ghastly hauntings ceased. To indicate public mourning, marriages of any kind were prohibited on the Feralia, and Ovid urged mothers, brides, and widows to refrain from lighting their wedding torches. Magistrates stopped wearing their insignia and any worship of the Gods was prohibited as it "should be hidden behind closed temple doors; no incense on the altar, no fire on the hearth.

A Modern Halloween Celebration

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Halloween has come a long way from where it began many years ago. Whether you love it or despise it, Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday celebrated across America today. And it looks like this ancient tradition isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

After reading where our version of Halloween stemmed from, you should have a much clearer understanding of what it's all about. And that, while some people still consider this to be an evil and fearsome holiday, it really all comes down to having a little bit of fun.

People love stepping away from reality and hum drum life to become someone else. Halloween gives us the opportunity to do this. Even if it is only once a year.

Today's Halloween Customs

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Many of the customs we practice to celebrate Halloween today have deep seeded roots in the traditions of ancient times.

Trick-or-treating for example, most probably originated from All Soul's Day parades that were held in England many years ago. Reason being is that during these parades, destitute peoples would plead for something to eat as they could not afford to buy this sustenance Other families in turn would present them with special pastries deemed "soul cakes" as a promise to pray for those in the family that had passed on to the afterlife.

Not to be forgotten, many families would also leave food and drink outside during All Hallows Eve and All Saint's Day to keep wandering spirits at bay. Some would say that this tradition could be where children dressing up as ghouls and goblins represent the wandering spirits and the candy/food given would coincide with that custom.

Which brings us to why we dress up in costumes today for both parties and the act of trick-or-treating. Long ago, during Celtic times, special ceremonies were held to signify the ending of Summer and the beginning of winter. This was called Samhain.

During these ancient festivities, Celts would wear costumes made from animal skins. The Celts believed that on this night, October 31st, the dead could cross over from their world back in to ours. To keep the spirits from recognizing them, they would dress in costumes to hide their true identities from the wandering spirits.

They believed that by wearing masks, that this would conceal them and make the roaming spirits think they were other kindred spirits simply wandering about and leave them at peace.

By incorporating the disguises and leaving food offerings outside their homes, people of the past believed it would keep restless wandering spirits distracted protecting themselves and their homes from becoming infested with unwanted spirt guests.

Obviously today, there are many other types of costumes we don on Halloween. Not just the traditional witches, goblins, and ghosts of the past.

All of this explains why in current times we wear costumes, throw parties, and go out trick-or-treating on Halloween. To date, Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion every year celebrating Halloween. That's a whole lot of candy and costumes!

Early Halloween Celebration Customs

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When colonial Americans first began participating in Halloween celebrations they would conduct something known as "play parties". These parties were held as public events in celebration of harvesting crops. During the play parties, neighbors would get together and tell tales very similar to ghost stories we tell today. They would also experiment in fortune telling, plus throw in some dancing and singing. Sometimes, there would also be some type of pranks being played. Or "tricks" if you prefer.

Not everyone across America would participate in these play party gatherings however. Even though annual autumn festivals were commonplace, these were not classified as Halloween parties until a bit later.

Around the mid nineteenth century, after the Irish immigrants had arrived in America somewhere along 1846, Halloween became more popular throughout the country. Combining Irish and English traditions of old, people began the more modern day custom of dressing up in costumes and going trick-or-treating. During the early days, treats consisted of food items or money, unlike the candy that is traditionally passed out to trick-or-treaters of today.

By the end of the nineteenth century, Halloween was mainly celebrated with home hosted parties. These would be thrown for both children and adults. During these upgraded get togethers, party goers would play festive games, eat seasonal foods, and wear stylish costumes that were popular to the period. Most hosts would steer clear of things considered too frightening such as ghost stories so everyone could have a fantastic night of fun.

When the 1920's and 30's rolled around, Halloween festivities received yet another update. Many of the celebrations were centered around community activities such as parades and city-wide parties.

In the 1950's Halloween was becoming a celebration geared towards the youth of America thanks to the baby boom. During these years, community based parties were drummed down into classroom festivities and home based parties. And it is also during this time that trick-or-treating came back in to fashion.

Bringing back the tradition of trick-or-treating provided communities with a way to enjoy and share the holiday together without the need for huge "town hall" type gatherings. This was considered a great American tradition of being able to celebrate the holiday as a community while keeping costs and vandalism down.

Bringing Halloween To America

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When the first settlers came to America, they left many old traditions and celebrations from the old world behind, including that of Halloween. Many puritans believed it was a paganistic holiday and had no place in the development of their new life.

So, Halloween was all but forgotten. Until the mid nineteenth century when millions of immigrants came across the ocean to America. With them, they brought along their long practiced cultural traditions.

Not long after their arrival, America was changing into a veritable melting pot of cultures. And so, adaptations began changing the custom of Halloween into what we now recognize it as today.

Instead of having huge bon fires as part of traditional Halloween celebrations, people would use pumpkins carving out portions and lighting candles inside as lanterns. Ancient costumes worn went from animal skins to more modern attire such as dressing up as ghosts, ghouls, and witches.

And as for the trick-or-treat candy collecting, well, this is believed to have originated from another old tradition that was termed "Souling". Souling was the practice of people going door to door praying for the souls of the departed at their neighbors homes. In exchange for the prayers, the home owners would offer food to their visitors.

Others also believe that trick-or-treating could have stemmed from people leaving food offerings out on their porches during All Hallows Eve to appease the spirits in letting their home and family be at peace.

The true origins of trick-or-treating are still not known for sure. But what we do know is that it sure is loads of fun!

Even with these changes, some regions of America still frowned upon the celebration of Halloween. In places like New England, strict Protestants did not participate in Halloween. Nor did they allow others to take part in such pagan rituals in their communities.

However, in the earlier years, places like Maryland and many southern colonies celebrated Halloween regularly. And today, thanks to the Irish immigrants coming over during the mid nineteenth century, Halloween has become a national celebrated holiday all across America.

The Ancient Roots of Halloween

2009-10-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

Around 2,000 years ago in the North Eastern region of Europe centralized around the areas of Ireland, the UK, and Northern France, a group of people known as the Celts held sacred religious rituals on the night of October 31st to celebrate the upcoming new year on November 1st. This celebration was know as Samhain, which is pronounced like "sow in", and is a word that means "Summer's End".

The purpose of celebrating on October 31st was because the Celts believed that this night, the night before the beginning of the new year, was the one night the spirits of the dead came back to their earthly realm and could potentially cause havoc.

On this night, they believed that their priests, also know as the Druids, would be able to communicate with these spirits to predict the outcome of the new year more accurately.

For the Celts, October 31st signified the end of summer, which was also the end of their harvest time, and the start of harsh winter months that many would not survive. This was precisely why the Celts looked to their priests to help them gain insight on what to expect in the coming winter months ahead. To them, it was a matter of life or death.

At the beginning of the Samhain celebration, a sacred bon fire would be lit by the Druids in which participants would then burn crops and animals considered sacrifices to their gods in attempts to appease them with a prosperous new year. The animals used in these ceremonies were selected carefully and believed they were unable to survive on their own throughout the harsh winter months ahead.

Throughout the festivities, Celts would wear lavish costumes constructed mainly of animal skins and heads.

After all the celebrations had ended, each participant would take a bit of the bon fire back to their homes and relight their fireplaces that were extinguished earlier in the evening prior to the ceremonies. They did this as a form of protection to keep themselves safe and their farms prosperous during the dark, cold winter months.

While these traditions were practiced for many years, they were about to change when the Romans conquered the Celts around 43 A.D. This would last for the next four hundred years.

The Romans combined the Celtic celebration of Samhain with two of their own that occurred around the same time. The first was called Feralia. This Roman traditional celebration was for remembrance of the dead. It lasted for one day towards the end of October. The second celebration was a day of honor for the Roman goddess Pomona.

An interesting fact about the goddess Pomona is that she was associated with fruit and trees. Her main identifying symbol was the apple, and could give some explanation in to why at some modern day Halloween gatherings people bob for apples.

With the changing and combining of the three traditions, it gained a new name that we are familiar with today. This new celebration, conducted on November 1st, was deemed All Saint's Day. It was a day in which all people were granted permission to freely worship their deity of choice.

However, many people decided to also keep the older traditions and celebrate on October 31st in the ancient ways of their ancestors. This day was given the name All Hallows Eve. Now what we commonly refer to as Halloween, or Hallowe'en.

The True history of Halloween

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When you think of Halloween, what springs to mind? For most it's a time of fun and frolic for both young and old alike.

People of all ages come out and dress up in unique costumes as whoever, or, whatever they desire one night of the year. A chance to step outside of ourselves. A moment to forget about the everyday grind stresses that await the morning after. It is a time for smiles, treats, and often time tricks or pranks all in the spirit of good natured fun.

For others amongst us, Halloween may be considered an evil, outlandish ritual that should never be participated in being avoided at all costs. Or a terrifying night when spirits of the dead come back to haunt us. A dark time for horrifying deeds that lead to no good.

But what do we truly know about the ancient traditions that sparked our modern Halloween celebrations? Are they spawned from tainted, sinister places in the past?

Or could they have been created and intended for something else entirely?

The True history of Halloween. then this will enlighten you on all that is Halloween based on the facts throughout history. Keep an open mind. You just may learn something you never knew before about this ancient tradition engrained in our modern day society.