Ancient Origins
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain
(pronounced sow-in).
The Celts were ancient people who lived 2,000 years ago in the region that is now called Ireland, in the United Kingdom and in the northern France: These people celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain; they believed that on that night the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. They did that only to cause trouble and damage crops; Celts also thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the unpredictable natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the
people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic
deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal
heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration
was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier
that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming
winter.
Some questions:
- Do you celebrate Halloween in your country?
- How long have you celebrated it?
- Was there another festival for commemorating the dead before Halloween came into fashion?
- Do you organize parties on Halloween night?
- Do you wear a special costume? Which kind of costume? (Skeleton, ghost, witch, wizard, zombie, etc.)
- Do you have special food on this day?
- Do you put lighted pumpkins in your home?
- Are you afraid of ghosts?
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