Annie's
Halloween History Page
~A Christian Perspective on the
Holiday~
Reference
for this page is The World Book Encyclopedia.
I have designed my pages with the 640 x 480 screen size in mind.
Espaņol
These Bible verses tell us that we are accountable for our actions and our choices!
"Prove all things hold fast that which is good"..........1 Thes. 5:21 KJV
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.".......Romans 12:2 KJV
"What doth the Lord thy God
require of thee? But to do justly and
to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God."
~Micah 6:8~
Well I thought that I would just put up the information from the Encyclopedia about the History of Halloween along with the connection of the Celts and the Druids along with customs and other information. This will compliment the information on my main Halloween page. I have not added any opinions because the information stands alone and you can then make your own conclusions.
Please remember that all the information below is straight from the Encyclopedia!
What is Halloween?
Halloween is a festival that takes
place on October 31. In the United States, children wear costumes
on Halloween and go trick-or-treating. Many carve
jack-o'-lanterns out of pumpkins. Halloween parties feature such
activities as fortunetelling, storytelling about ghosts and
witches, and bobbing for apples.
Halloween developed from ancient new year festivals and festivals
of the dead. In the A.D. 800's, the Christian church established
All Saints' Day on November 1 so that people could continue a
festival they had celebrated before becoming Christians. The Mass
said on All Saints' Day was called Allhallowmas. The evening
before All Saints' Day became known as All Hallows' Eve, or All
Hallow e'en.
What is the History of Halloween?
History: The Celtic festival of Samhain is
probably the source of the present-day Halloween celebration. The
Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now the United
Kingdom, Ireland, and northern France. Their new year began on
November 1. A festival that began the previous evening honored
Samhain, the Celtic lord of death. The celebration marked the
beginning of the season of cold, darkness, and decay. It
naturally became associated with human death. The Celts believed
that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their
earthly homes for this evening.
On the evening of the festival, the Druids, who were the priests
and teachers of the Celts, ordered the people to put out their
hearth fires. The Druids built a huge new year's bonfire of oak
branches, which they considered sacred. They burned animals,
crops, and possibly even human beings as sacrifices. Then each
family relit its hearth fire from the new year's fire. During the
celebration, people sometimes wore costumes made of animal heads
and skins. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining
the remains of the animals that had been sacrificed.
The Romans began the conquest of the Celts in A.D. 43 and ruled
much of what is now the United Kingdom for about 400 years.
During this period, two Roman autumn festivals were combined with
the Celtic festival of Samhain. One of them, called Feralia, was
held in late October to honor the dead. The other festival
honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Apples
probably became associated with Halloween because of this
festival.
What is All Saint's Day?
All Saints' Day. Many of the customs of the Celts
survived even after the people became Christians. During the
800's, the church established All Saints' Day on November 1. The
people made the old pagan customs part of this Christian holy
day. The Catholic church later began to honor the dead on
November 2. This day became known as All Souls' Day.
Regional Halloween customs developed
among various groups of Celts. In Ireland, for example, people
begged for food in a parade that honored Muck Olla, a god. The
leader of the parade wore a white robe and a mask made from the
head of an animal. In Scotland, people paraded through fields and
villages carrying torches. They lit huge bonfires on hillsides to
drive away witches and other evil spirits. In Wales, every person
marked a stone and put it into a bonfire. The people believed
that if a person's stone was missing the next morning, he or she
would die within a year.
In England, Halloween was sometimes called Nutcrack Night or Snap
Apple Night. Families sat by the fire and told stories while they
ate apples and nuts. On All Souls' Day, poor people went
a-souling (begging). They received pastries called soulcakes in
exchange for promising to say prayers for the dead.
How is Halloween Celebrated in the
U.S.?
Halloween in the United States. Many early
American settlers came from England and other Celtic regions, and
they brought various customs with them. But because of the strict
religious beliefs of other settlers, Halloween celebrations did
not become popular until the 1800's. During that period, large
numbers of immigrants arrived from Ireland and Scotland and
introduced their Halloween customs.
During the mid-1900's,
trick-or-treating became less popular in large cities, where many
neighbors did not know one another. Halloween pranks, which had
once been harmless, sometimes became rowdy and destructive.
Traffic accidents also became a major problem on Halloween. As a
result, family parties and large community celebrations gained
popularity. Today, many communities sponsor bonfires, costume
parades, dances, skits, and other forms of entertainment to
celebrate Halloween.
Who are the Druids and the Celts?
Druids, pronounced DROO ihdz, were the
priestly, learned class among the Celts, a people of ancient
Europe. The Druids were judges and lawmakers as well as priests.
They led religious ceremonies, settled legal disputes, and served
as leaders and advisers to their people.
Druidism, the religion of the Druids, involved the worship of
many gods. The Druids regarded mistletoe and oak as sacred. They
believed the soul was immortal and entered a new body after
death. The Druids killed animals and possibly people as
sacrifices. They studied the flights of birds and the remains of
sacrificed animals to foretell the future. The Romans, who
conquered much of Europe between about 300 B.C. and A.D. 100,
tried to stop druidism. The religion died out after the Celts
became Christians in the 400's and 500's.
During the 1600's, the descendants of the Celts became interested
in their Druidic heritage. Today, several groups in Great Britain
and Ireland practice what they believe to be ancient Druidism.
They hold Druidic festivals at the beginning of spring, summer,
autumn, and winter. A major celebration takes place at
Stonehenge, a monument near Salisbury, England, that the Druids
are said to have used. In Wales, festivals of music and poetry
called eisteddfods (pronounced ay STEHTH vahdz) include Druidic
rites.
What is a Witch?
The term witch comes from the Old
English word wicca, which is derived from the Germanic root wic,
meaning to bend or to turn. By using magic, a witch is believed
to change or bend events. Today, the word witch can be applied to
a man or a woman. In the past, male witches were also called
warlocks and wizards.
What is Wicca?
Essentially, Wicca is a fertility
religion that celebrates the natural world and the seasonal
cycles that are central to farming societies. It acknowledges the
Goddess as the feminine side of a deity called God. Witches
worship both Goddess and God in various personifications,
including ancient gods and goddesses. Rites are tied to the
cycles of the moon, which is the symbol of the power of the
Goddess, and to the seasons of the year. Religious holidays are
called sabbats. There are four major sabbats: Imbolc (February
1), Beltane (April 30), Lugnasadh or Lammas (July 31), and
Samhain (October 31).
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