Halloween is celebrated every year on the 31st of October. People dress up in costumes, children go trick-or-treating and everyone watched scary films with their friends and families.
But what is the history behind Halloween?
Halloween originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced like [s-ow-in]). It marked the time of year when seasons changed and the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
The Celts of ancient Ireland and Scotland would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these ghosts. This festival is supposed to have come from pagan roots, which makes Halloween a pre-Christian tradition.
Over time as Christianity took over the Celtic lands, Halloween was eventually blended with other Christian traditions.
The church celebrated All Saints' (All Hallows') Day on the 1st of November. With this came All Hallow's Eve (31st of October), eventually becoming Halloween.
It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of Samhain with a related, church-sanctioned holiday.
During the 19th Century when many Irish people immigrated to America, fleeing the famine in their own country, they brought the tradition of Halloween with them. This helped to popularise the festival and eventually developed it into the holiday we all know today.
Was any of this information new to you? Where did you think Halloween originated from?
Happy Halloween everyone!
