All Hallows Eve: The origins of Halloween

All Hallows Eve: The origins of Halloween

The origins of Halloween lie buried deep in the mists of time and probably draw on a number of sources.

The Celtic feast of Samhain (pronounced sow-in) celebrated the end of harvest and the beginning of the dark period of winter. 

The boundary between this world and the world of the dead was thought to dissolve and the dead returned to earth and created havoc by playing tricks on people and damaging crops.

Some suggest that this gave plenty of opportunity for the local practical jokers to do their worst and blame it on the spirits; others that some people used to dress up in order to deceive the spirits.

For the Celts there would have been feasting around bonfires designed to ward off the spirits. This was a good time for telling fortunes as the spirits were more easily reached. But our sources for this period are very limited so much of this is conjecture.

The Romans added two feasts of their own, Feralia, which commemorated the dead, and a feast in celebration of Pomana the goddess of fruit and trees – hence perhaps the link s with apples, which were her symbol.

Enter the Christian church who introduced the Feast of All Saints on 1 November in an attempt to move interest away from the emphasis on pagan festivals and the celebration of the dead. This is where the term Halloween originates since 1 November was originally the Feast of All Hallows and 31 October All Hallows Eve later contracted to Halloween.

Courtesy of:

http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/1198.id?gclid=CJCU5rS2gtACFecp0wodja0I8g