Now Halloween is a mixture of the old and new, very old pagan, with a mix of Christian Holidays thrown in there. The blend of the two in American culture grew into a creation that was unique when the different immigrants that had arrived in the American colonies, were free to celebrate without fear of retaliation by the various Churches.
Now every ancient culture seemed to have a final harvest celebration that occurred around the same time period. They all seemed to have a number of things in common, which were, seeing this celebration as a time of the very last fruits of harvest, getting ready for the long days of darkness of the coming winter, preparing for those times of food shortages, honoring the God and Goddess of the Harvest, and of the Light, and giving honor to the God and Goddess of the forthcoming time of Dark, and cold, giving honor to the spirits and beings who helped with the fruitfulness of the harvest, and trying to appease those who would be arriving with the cold, dark winter months. It was also common to see this as a time of thinness between the veil that separated the living, and those who had died, and giving honor to one’s loved ones and ancestors who had passed into the afterlife.
For the ancient Irish Celtic folks, it was called Samhain, and they also considered it the start of their New Year. They had bonfires, communal feasts, costumes, and would leave out offerings to the spirits and for their ancestors. In the British Isles, these Celtic celebrations were influenced by the Romans, who had begun trade in 55 B.C., before invading later on. The Roman's had their holidays such as Ferlia, which honored the passing of the dead, and also the festival of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and trees. They were incorporated into the Celtic holidays.
The Welsh called it, Calan Gaeaf, and celebrated it on November 1. To them, it was also a celebration of the first day of winter. The Cornish Folk celebrated it on October 31 and called it Kalan Gwav. In Brittany, they too celebrated it on the 31 of October, and there it was called Kalan Goanv.
Now the Germanic peoples had a festival, celebration if you will, that was celebrated on the 14th and 15th of October called Vetrablot, which was also known as Frey's blessings, and is known now as Winternights, and is celebrated on October 31. It too was along the same line as the other celebrations we have discussed.
October 31 was also the Feast Day of the Egyptian goddesses, Sekhmet and Bastet.
The indigenous peoples of South and Central Mexico had a Holiday they celebrated around the same time as the Celts and the Romans, and the rest; they called it Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It too was seen as a time of honoring and appeasing those who had gone on.
Now, as the influence of the Catholic Church increased and spread, they, in a hope of ousting the pagan celebrations, created the celebration of All Saints, in the early 600's A.D. This was a celebration of all the Catholic Saints, and it was November 1, and the Church hoped it would entice everyone to put away their pagan beliefs. It soon became known as All Hallows, which would become Halloween or All Hallows Eve. It didn't quite work out the way the Church planned. So in the 9th century,
They rearranged their calendar and added All Souls Day on the 2 of November. It was to pray for all the dead Catholics. Once again, it didn't quite go as they planned, and soon, the customs of the 2 Christian Holidays, were incorporated into the celebrations of the everyday folk.
They rearranged their calendar and added All Souls Day on the 2 of November. It was to pray for all the dead Catholics. Once again, it didn't quite go as they planned, and soon, the customs of the 2 Christian Holidays, were incorporated into the celebrations of the everyday folk.
Halloween is seen as the time of the thinning of the veil between the worlds. It is a time to celebrate and pay homage to not only our ancestors but to all of our loved ones that have gone on, be it human or our pets. It is also a time to pay homage to the Lady and Lord in their aspects of the Crone, and he of the Underworld. It is also a time to propitiate those spirits that are associated with not only the forthcoming time of the cold winter months, but also those who may be associated with the land, and with your family lineage.
The concept of dressing up in costume and going from house to house to obtain treats has deep roots that go back centuries. All can be boiled down to the fact that those dressed up were representing souls that had passed on, spirits or other supernatural beings associated with the other worlds, and that the treats or food were to appease said spirits. From cultural holidays of various nations, to the inclusion of All Saints and All Souls Day, this concept grew into the modern idea of Trick or Treating which was soon seen as a tradition for children. This melding of traditions and cultures in the United States shows the blending and amalgamation is a perfect example of the idea of the Melting Pot that represents the various ethnic and religious groups of this nation.
As for using Jack O'Lanterns, this concept originated in Ireland, and other Celtic areas and soon spread to Scotland, but pumpkins were not used there, they used turnips, or potatoes and at times large beets. When they arrived in North America ( meaning the American Colonies) they found that pumpkins were so much easier to obtain and work with. The concept of the Jack O'Lanterns was to scare off evil spirits.
