The word itself, actually has its origins in the Catholic church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. All Hallows Day or All Saints Day falls on November 1st and is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. In the 5th Century BC, in Celtic Ireland, 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. This was referred to as a Celtic festival called 'Samhain'. 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 31st 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 other worldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. The next influence came with the spread of the new Christain religion throughtout Europe and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic church would make November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints. Years later the church would make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils. But the spread of Christainity did not make people forget their early customs, so on the eve of All Hallows Day October 31st, people continued the festival of 'Samhain'. The Halloween we celebrate today includes all these influences, the harvest, the festival of Samhain's black cats, magic, evil spirits and death, and the ghosts , skeletons and skulls from All Saints Day and All Souls Day. |
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