Halloween

All Hallows’ Eve:

Halloween, contraction of All Hallows’ Eve a holiday observed on October 31, the evening before All Saint’s Day. The celebration marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints and initiates the season of Allhallowtide, which lasts three days and is known as All Souls’ Day. In much of Europe and most of North America, observance of Halloween is largely non-religious.

 History of Halloween:

 

Halloween had its origins in the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. That date was considered the beginning of the winter period, the date on which the herds were returned from pasture and land tenures were renewed. During the Samhain festival, the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes, and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the otherworld.

People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day.

Period of Divination:

The period was also thought to be favorable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death. When the Romans conquered the Celts in the 1st century CE, they added their festivals of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and Pomona, the goddess of the harvest. The evening before All Saints’ Day became a holy, or hallowed, eve and thus Halloween. By the end of the Middle Ages, the secular and the sacred days had merged.

 Halloween as a Holiday:

The Reformation essentially put an end to the religious holiday among Protestants, although in Britain especially Halloween continued to be celebrated as a secular holiday. Along with other festivities, the celebration of Halloween was largely forbidden among the early American colonists. When large numbers of immigrants, including the Irish, went to the United States beginning in the mid-19th century, they took their Halloween customs with them and in the 20th century, Halloween became one of the principal U.S. holidays, particularly among children.

Activities on Halloween:

As a secular holiday, Halloween has come to be associated with several activities. One symbol is the jack-o-lantern, a hollowed-out pumpkin, originally a turnip, carved into a demonic face and lit with a candle inside.

Another activity is the practice of pulling usually harmless pranks. Celebrants wear masks and costumes for parties and for trick-or-treating thought to have derived from the British practice of allowing the poor to beg for food and called “soul cakes.” Trick-or-treaters go from house to house with the threat that they will pull a trick if they do not receive a treat, usually candy.

 

Halloween parties often include games such as bobbing for apples, perhaps derived from the Roman celebration of Pomona. Since the mid-20th century, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has attempted to make the collection of money for its programs a part of Halloween.

Along with skeletons, spider webs, and black cats, the holiday has incorporated scary beings such as ghosts, witches, and vampires into the celebration.

Death Rates Increase:

Although Halloween is an event of fun and enjoyment, yet it increases your chances of dying too. According to the Republican Herald, Halloween has the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities. Due to drunken driving, indulging and crazy parties Halloween has increased the chances of death.

While you are out trick-or-treating, you have to constantly be on the lookout from those ratty ‘old bag snatchers, those kids who lie in wait in the bushes and wait for the perfect opportunity to run up and snatch your hard-earned bag of candy.

 

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All Hallows’ Eve: Halloween, contraction of All Hallows’ Eve a holiday observed on October 31, the evening before All Saint’s Day. The celebration marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints and initiates the season of Allhallowtide, which lasts three days and is known as All Souls’ Day. In much of Europe and most…