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The History of Halloween
by Varun Roperia, Staff Writer
Every year as autumn
approaches and October passes by, jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, bats,
witches all burst out as decorations suddenly don house after house.
Advertisements for all sorts of costumes and decorations appear and
as the night rolls on, nearly 200 million people celebrate in the
United States alone, bobbing for apples, and trick-or-treating. Yet
Halloween did not even have origins in North America, and is
celebrated very differently in other countries.
The earliest celebrations of Halloween were among the
Celtic people who lived in the areas which are now the U.K. and
Northern France. The Celts were people who worshiped the beauty of
nature. They worshiped a Sun God and believed that without him, they
would not live. They also worshipped Samhain who was the lord of the
dead and of the cold, dark winter season. They believed that on
October 31 Samhain would call together all of the dead and these
souls would take on the shape of an animal.
The Druids, which were the priests of the Celtic
people, would build fires on the hilltops in belief that the large
fires would help to strengthen the Sun God, and give him power
enough to overcome the lord of darkness so that the sun season could
continue. They believed that the fires were sacred, and therefore
they burned dried crops and sacrificed animals to help strengthen
the Sun God. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes,
typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to
tell each other's fortunes, and it is from this practice that it is
said that the idea of wearing costumes arose.
The Celts continued with their ceremonies until they
were conquered by the Romans, who brought Catholicism with them. The
Roman Catholics brought with them their own customs and traditions.
They established All Saints Day or All Hallows Day on November 1.
The church had hoped that by establishing this holiday, it would do
away with the Vigil of Samhain and the other ceremonies and
celebrations held on October 31 through November 1. But this was not
so, and soon, cries of "witchcraft" were made, and October 31 was
renamed Night of the Witch. It was believed that the devil and all
of his followers would come out on this night to perform unholy acts
to make a mockery of the All Hallows Day celebration. These
ceremonies and celebrations continued and October 31 was then called
All Hallows Even. It was a night for superstitious beliefs and
mystery. Through the years the name was shortened to Hallowe'en and
then to Halloween.
Even now, in modern Ireland Halloween is celebrated
with large bonfires lit in many cities and on hills in the
countryside, as well as with fireworks displays throughout the
cities. The children walk around knocking on the doors of their
neighbors, in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the
Halloween festival. The Halloween celebration in Hong Kong is known
as "Yue Lan" (Festival of Hungry spirits) and is a time when it is
believed that spirits roam the world for twenty-four hours. Some
people burn pictures of fruit or money at this time, believing these
images would reach the spirit world and bring comfort to the ghosts.
In Germany, the people put away their knives on
Halloween night, because they do not want to risk harm befalling the
returning spirits. The English Reformation in the 16th century
de-emphasized Catholic holy days like All Hallows Day and its
associated eve. With the rise of Guy Fawkes Night celebrations in
England, many of these traditions, especially the building of large
bonfires, were transferred to the new holiday.
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