Hey everyone!
Hope the year has gone well so far for all. The time is near for one of our favorite events of the year. Take a break from Teen Chat and read on:
When the first autumn leaf falls. When warm pumpkin spice fills the air. When the blissful breeze sends chills down your spine. When warm cozy knitted scarves snug around your neck. When Jason, Freddy, and Micheal find their way into your recommendations. You know it’s that time of year again!
The time of year for gathering up with friends and getting candy dressed as your favorite character, or like one your mom made you dress up as. What is that time of year you may ask?
Halloween; of course!
Halloween is arguably the best holiday ever, but where exactly did it come from? Have people always put little pumpkins on their porch steps, or always dress in funny costumes to get candy? What exactly happened in order for this wonderful holiday to become so well known throughout the world? Was it something as arguably major as the birth of Christ? Or maybe death? There’s a lot more to this Spook Fest Holiday than we give credit for! Maybe, just maybe, if you keep reading there’s something you haven’t learned before.
Halloween has been around for a lot longer than you may think. See, lots of people think Halloween came from All Hallows Eve; but, believe it or not, it goes back further than that!
The first ever records of “Halloween” are over two thousand five hundred years ago, celebrated by the bright group of Celtic peoples.
However they called these few days of celebration Samhain (SAH-win). Celts would celebrate Samhain from Oct. 31st to November 1st, during the fall equinox and winter solstice.
Samhain was considered the most important of the four fire festivals, due to when it took place.
They would call this “the dark half of the year” where the people who celebrated believed that the barriers from the spiritual world to our world would be faulty. Since they believed the barriers to be down, they would leave offerings to outside Faeries or Sidhs.
Despite the fact they left offerings; Celts were afraid that faeries would kidnap them and drag them into the Otherworld. This is where costumes come into play!
They would dress as animals and monsters to hide.
After centuries Pope Boniface – a devout catholic – was dead set on reforming the holiday. He made a new day on May 13th to give kudos to the Saints and Martyrs. However this plan was not to be the last change to Halloween!
Years later in the 9th century Pope Gregory moved the day back to the equinox and solstice, however, he changed the name. He declared the days, “All Saints Day” and “All Souls Day” would follow. These days are where the people of the church would go celebrate the life of their lost ones.
Unfortunately to the priests, these changes did not revoke all aspects of paganism.
So these two holidays split completely. October 31st became All Hallows Eve or Halloween!
Trick or treating is said to come from old Irish practices leading up to Samhain. Irish people would dress up and go door to door, mumming themselves – or dressing up in costumes – and go door to door to sing songs to the dead, giving cakes and candy as payments.
All Souls and Saints day are still around and celebrated in the Catholic Church, November 1st to November 2nd. Pretty amazing isn’t it?
Next time you go to trick or treat to get your favorite candies, remember the long and grueling history of this holiday. Where people would hide and thank spirits and monsters, hoping they would survive yet another year.
Happy HalloTeen, Everyone~~ make sure to always check under your bed before going to sleep tonight! Who knows, Maybe the Faeries still lurk, waiting to take their uncostumed victim with them to the depths of the Otherworld.
Special thanks to moderator Amethyst for her contribution.
