Since we are about to put on our customes and go out trick or treating, I figured we should look into the meaning of halloween. What does it mean? why is the united states the biggest idealist when it comes to it? do other cultures celebrate and how?
The first thing I discovered was that halloween is actually "All Hallows eve" which during the years has become shorter to make halloween. All hallows eve has been observed for centuries by many eastern europen countries. October 31st has been the date of many harvest festival and days of the dead in many different countries.
But where did such a ritual come from, well perhaps you wont be surprised that the now commercialised custome party actually came from the Samhain ritual. cool, huh?
samhein is a Gaelic festival, it celebrates the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter or the darker part of the year. this was the time when the cattle was brought in from the green warm pastures and retired to their warmer abodes. it was also when the sheep where slaughter, creating a big feast. this usually involved a large bonfire, where the meat was cooked and the people would gather around the fire to sing songs and dance (it sounds like a witches movie does it not?)
Part of the ritual involved the people walking through two bonfires as part of a ritual cleansing and the bones of the slaightered life stock where thrown into the fire. This was done partly becouse the celtic people believed that it was on oct 31st the beggining of the winter, when a door would open and the dead where allowed to walk among us. A feast was ritualistic offered to the dead and they where invited to partake in the festivities. this is where the custome of disguising oneself began. for they would put on customes to invite their dead relatives to come into our world.
Historically, this is also the best day for divination, since divination has been said to be actually a communication with the dead who will whisper in the ear of the receiver to tell them what is to happen on the rest of the year.
some believed that other beings could be seen on this day, since the mystic veil was lifted. such beings as feiries in the woods and eveil spirits. part of the ritual of dressing up began here, people thought that if you looked like the evil spirits they would leave you alone.
So how did the whole tradition of trick or treating come about?
The beggining makes a lot of sense, children where the one who walked from house to house collecting food for the feast. later, in the 18th centurie is was the job of young boys to walk from house to house asking for fuel for the bomfire, but in the 19th centurie a man dressed in a white mare (or horse) would would door to door with destitute children, they would all carrie sacks, and they would ask for food for the winter. it was believed to be good luck and a sing of a good person if where to share a little bit of food store with these kids. As I said before, they believed evil spirits where out on such a date, so they would dress up to confuse the spirits. sounds a lot like todays day and age does it not?
here is when it gets interesting, All saints day, a christian holyday, was on the same day, cristians also believed that it was during this day that they should pray to their saints, and pray for the recently deceased that had yet to arrive to heaven. (Cristians, as you know, believe in purgatory, which means the waiting period while you are being judged.) But here is what is really interesting. all saints day was originally celebrated on may 13 but in the year 835 it was changed by a pope to Oct 31st. some say it was because the chritian influenced had reached the celtic people, and the pope wanted them to switch their rituals from paganism to christianity, I dare say such tactic worked. by the end of the 12th centurie All hallows eve had been changed to all souls day, chritian people where expected to ring bells and pray for the souls that where in purgotory, and sweet cakes where baked and given to the poor children who would walk from door to door asking for them..
Prince sorie conteh of Italy wrote that if did not want to be discovered by a lost soul looking for revange you should where a custome.
Another ritual involved children placing candles inside of skulls in the graveyards, this was to remind the lost souls where they belonged, and how to find their rightful place. later this was replaced by jack o lanterns. I wonder if the people who place them on their door step knew the true meaning of it, if they would continue to place them there?
So why is the United States the most popular place in halloween. well, until th e19th centurie halloween was non existant in the US. but with the mass migration of the 19th century in which the irish began to populate the streets of such places like New york, halloween became more and more popular. It turned from a festival that only the irish would celebrate to a great party where veryone could join. slowly the true meaning was lost. although we all get a sense of the real reason when you walk alone in thedark on halloween.
*The information from this article was found in wikipidea.com as where the pictures.
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