We don't celebrate this day too much! I admit that it is fun letting the little ones dress up and getting more candy than anyone needs in a whole year. I looked up and copied the history of Halloween from Wikopedia.
The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples of the late iron age are thought to have believed that the border between this world and the other world became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. We should note that there is little or no evidence of the beliefs of these people, however, ancestor worship and belief in malevolent spirits are common themes for humanity and ancestor worship at ancient tombs has some archaeological support. On this basis the family's ancestors may have been honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is conjectured that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks; much as it seems to have done in many tribal cultures. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise is said to have been divination, which may have involved the use of food and drink, though it has been said that Druidic rites also included more sinister forms of divination.
The name 'Halloween' and some of its present-day traditions derive from the English Medieval Period or possibly earlier.
WOWSERS!! Who Knew? Who Cares? I do!
I think for our family we'll stick to a fall fest somewhere in town and maybe trick or treat at our cute lil neighbors houses. I have 2 neighbors that I just love, they are grandmas and who doesn't love a grandma that has goody bags for every holiday for all 4 of your kids. :)
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