How did Halloween start?
All Hallows eve, comes before all saints day. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year – the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. The Romans adopted some of the English Celtic practices as their own and assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the ap
Halloween started several thousand years ago with the Ancient Celts (a group of pre-Christian mystics who worshipped nature). They considered October 31st the end of the year and they threw a big party which was known as Samhain. It was a celebration of the autumn harvest and the Celtic new year, when they believed spirits could come back and visit with living relatives. Celts put out food and drink for the dead and left their windows, doors, and gates unlocked to give the spirits free passage into their homes. Some people believed if you left “treats” on the front porch for the spirits and ghosts, this would make them happy and they would not hurt you. Later, as Christianity spread, November 1st became a religious holiday known as All Saints’ Day. The prayer that was said on this day was called Allhallowmas. The night before became known as All Hakkiwe’en, or Halloween.
