An Easy Teachers Guide On The History Of Halloween
Posted on August 16th, 2009 in Politics |
When researching the history of Halloween, one finds an interesting history. Halloween is believed to be a holiday that dates all the way back to the Celtic era, based on a celebration known as Samhain. This would be pronounced as sow in in modern English.
The time of this dates back to is approximately 2000 years. At this time the Celtics lived in a lot of different places if you go look for it today it would be where the United Kingdom is located, Ireland, and a lot of the area of northern France.
Originally, the Celtic culture was celebrating their New Year right around November first. This was the time of celebration because the harvest months were over and winter was beginning. The Celtics believed that the winter months resulted in death, so the new year began at the end of the warm months.
The history of Halloween story gets a lot more interesting in that the fact that they believed that on October 31 the barrier that is between the undead world, or spiritual world, and the physical world was at its all-time thinnest.
The Celtics believed that on this evening, the spirits would be walking among the physical world. At this time of year, these spirits would be responsible for damaging crops and wrecking havoc in the lives of mortals.
There was some optimism in the air, however. The Celtic priests, known as Druids, were sensitive to future prophesies at this time. This was a busy time of year for the priests, as they were offering predictions about what was to happen in the upcoming years.
The Celtic community would bring sacrifices in exchange for these predictions. They offered part of their crops and animals in hopes that the gods would give them good luck and wealth for the upcoming year.
The history of Halloween involves costumes. Originally, animal pieces were worn to scare away spirits. As time progressed, the costumes remained but became more fun while still maintaining the scary factor.
You would start to see different cultures were some would celebrate the passing of individuals who had crossed into the spiritual world while other cultures were celebrating various types of gods.
When the Catholic church gained control, Halloween became known as All Saints Day out of respect of the saints that had lived on Earth. Halloween has a rich and varied history.
All Souls Day, All Saints Day, or Halloween, whatever name its known by, has a rich past. A little research will reveal the different interpretations of Halloween for each religious group.
