Halloween

                Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, princesses, pirates, goblins, and ogres, welcome to Halloween. Halloween, otherwise known as All Hallows Eve, takes place on October 31, and involves costume, candy, parties, and trick-or-treating.

                According to http://www.halloween-history.org/, Halloween originated with the Celts who lived in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Northern France. The end of their year, November 1, signaled the end of the summer and the beginning of winter which would often result in many deaths. Because of the imminent deaths, they believed that the night before the New Year, the souls of the dead were able to come and mingle with the living. The people believed that the souls would possess living, cause mayhem, destroy crops, and look for a passage to the after-life. Some stories said that some of the Celts dressed up to try and scare the spirits away, others say that fairies would dress up as beggars and go from door to door, asking for food. Those who gave it to them would be rewarded, and those who didn’t would be punished. Eventually Christianity spread and the holiday was changed to All Souls Day and was meant to honor the dead. People would go door-to-door asking for food and in return would pray for the givers lost relatives. Children eventually adopted this practice.

                In the United States, Halloween was not originally popular because most of the people were protestant. When immigration increased, many of the Irish brought the holiday over with them. Catholics hoped to preserve their traditions and worked to get Halloween made into a national holiday and put on the calendar. Over time, it transformed into more of a family tradition than a religious one.

                Personally, I love Halloween. I think it is fun to find a costume and dress up and go out with your friends. I am sure it is also fun to stay at home and hand out candy to the cute little trick-or-treaters, but unfortunately I live out in the country so I don’t really have that option. I think the history of Halloween is interesting because I had never known it before. I would never have guessed that it was a religious holiday, or that the America did not start it. I will have to go to Ireland some day and see if they still celebrate Halloween, or All Hallows Eve.