Halloween is one of those days which both children and adults always look forward to, after Christmas, and Independence Day, Halloween is the most celebrated day in America. People indulge themselves in playing pranks and wearing scary costumes. The children also go out for some Trick-or-Treating. While all this is so much fun, most of us don't know about the real origin of Halloween and why we do the things we do to celebrate it.
Halloween was brought to America by the Irish people in the 1840s. The word Halloween actually refers to 'All Hallows Eve' which is celebrated on 31st October in the north-west of Europe. Their New Year began on November 1st which is celebrated as 'All Saints Day'. So 'All Hallows Eve' is actually the eve of 'All Saints day'.
The origins of Halloween date back to 5th century BC in Ireland. The Celtic tribes that inhabited the place celebrated their new year on November 1st. On the eve of the New Year they celebrated the festival Samhain. This day marked the end of summer season and the beginning of winter. The people believed that on this day the spirits of the dead people descended upon earth and would try to enter any living soul. So they wore scary clothes dressing up like ghouls, witches etc and made spooky noises in order to confuse the ghosts that they were dead and not living. This is why people now dress up as ghosts and other monsters during Halloween.
Even the Trick-or-Treat part of Halloween has its own origin. It is believed that on Halloween priests and saints would go out to each and every house to pray for the soul of any of their dead relatives in exchange for some cakes and buns.
Halloween is nothing without the Jack-O-Lantern. The Jack-O-Lantern is derived from a person called Jack who was being chased by the devil because he was destined to go to Hell. Later, he tricked the devil into climbing up a tree. When the devil was in the tree Jack carved a cross on it to prevent him from coming down. The devil then made a pact with Jack that he wouldn't throw him in Hell if he removed the cross. When Jack died he neither went in Hell nor in Heaven. So he wandered the earth with only a candle to light his path. This candle was placed in turnip to prevent it from extinguishing. Later on, when Irish people came to America, the turnip was replaced with a pumpkin.
All this has finally lead to the present day scenario where people decorate their home in a spooky way and kids go out dressed up like ghosts for some trick-or-treating.
Would you like to read more details about the origins of Halloween? TrueGhostTales.com has a special area that is devoted just to Halloween, our absolute favorite holiday. Read about the history and origins of Halloween Costumes, Jack-o-Lanterns, Trick-or-Treating and more. We even have Halloween recipes that will make your festivities even more fun. Of course there are loads of ghost stories and other great stuff too!
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