Oct 24, 2013
No Comments
From the Beginning
So it’s almost October 31st which means we’ll soon be celebrating Halloween. But where does the holiday come from?
It all started in Europe more than 2,000 years ago by a group of people called the Celts. They celebrated the end of summer on November 1st and thought that ghosts visited the living on October 31st. The Celts dressed up
like ghosts to protect themselves from the spirits that came to visit.
The Evolution of Halloween
Much of the fanfare comes from old traditions created in Scotland and Ireland. People from those countries dressed up and carried lanterns made from turnips. When many moved from Scotland and Ireland to the United States they started to use pumpkins.
There was also a tradition to give food to the visiting spirits, and then they started giving food to the poor, and later on trick-or-treating became a tradition.
Many countries around the world still commemorate the dead on November 1st and refer to the day as All Saints Day or Hallow’s Day. The 31st is All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween for short (or kind of shorter).
Halloween has changed a lot over the years as people have brought new traditions and altered the old ones.
Chances are it will continue to change even more. What do you think Halloween will be like in 1,000 years?!