HALLOWEEN
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of
Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the
area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France,
celebrated their new year on November 1.
This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning
of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with
human 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 October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed
that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that
the presence of the otherworldly 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,
typically consisting of 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.