The Origin of Halloween | The Open Book | Education Videos

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The Festival of Samhain

Halloween is a day filled with fun and frolic for children and has been celebrated in all parts of the U.S.A for many many years. How did this celebration come into existence and what are its peculiarities is what we shall look at in this video.
Halloween is celebrated traditionally on October 31st of each year. . It originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints; soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating sweet treats.
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.
This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
The Celts also believed that on this dark night it was easy for their priests to make long lasting prophecies. The Druids as the Celtic priests were called built huge bonfires where they burnt their crops, animals etc. On this occasion they would dress up with animal heads and skins and attempt to tell each other’s fortunes. After the celebration they would rekindle the fires at home to see them through the harsh winters.
The Romans conquered Celtic territory and combined two of their festivals with Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
The emergence of the church as an all powerful religious centre had its profound influence on this celebration. The All Saints Day was celebrated on November 1st and the day before they decided to celebrate Samhain.
Halloween had limited activity in America initially as the colonies had inhabitants who were Protestant Christians but slowly the meshing of Indo Americans saw the celebrations of Halloween taking its due place in American society. The first celebrations included “play parties,” public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance and sing. In the second half of the 19th century a number of Irish inhabitants popularized this festival. The Americans borrowed from the Irish and English traditions and the trick or treat emerged as a major part of the Halloween celebrations.
Towards the late 1800s the concentration on celebration was more on get togethers and fun and the ghost element was no longer to be seen in the festivities. In fact they were discouraged.
The reason for wearing masks at the parties was to prevent being recognized and to this day this holds good. What started as thanksgiving for the departed souls now has come to stay as a festival.