Where did Halloween originate? The Origins of Halloween
explained ... from Druids to Guy Fawkes and Beyond!
 
The celebration of Halloween has been growing in popularity throughout the UK, and each year neighbourhoods are filled with young children knocking on doors and requesting a "trick or treat!" - but what exactly does "Halloween" mean and where did it all start?
The word "Halloween"
The word itself actually has it's origins in the Catholic Church. The word "Halloween" comes from a contracted corruption of "All Hallows Eve". November 1 is a Catholic day of observance in honour of the saints, and this day is known as "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"). In Celtic Ireland in 5th century BC summer officially ended on 31st of October, with the holiday known as Samhain ("sow-en"), the Celtic New year.
The origins of Halloween
The age of the Druids was the place where the distant roots began for what has today become known as Halloween. In that time, many centuries ago, the period between October 31st and November 2nd were considered pagan high holy days. Samhain was a special holiday time. The Druid priests believed that time stopped and had no meaning for these few days. This was the time of chaos and festivals, for fortunes to be read, communication to be done with spirits of ancestors and others. Chaos and celebrations reigned supreme. Adults would dress up, although of course not in the costumes we have today! During the pagan celebration men would dress as women and the women would dress as men!
Children would not be left out of the celebrations. They would wander from home to home hoping for food or fruit to be given to them. It would also be a time for tricks to be played on the town's inhabitants. Fences, gates, and even doors were knocked down and even carted off to be discarded at the roadside or in ditches. Their cattle and horses might also be led away to other areas of the town. The days were renamed by Christian priests in later years and October 31st became Halloween, November 1st became All Saints Day and November 2nd became All Souls Day.
There was movement to remove Halloween from the calendar and festivities hundreds of years ago because some did not like the fact of its link to the Druids. People liked the celebration and fun that Halloween offered and they refused to give up their Halloween fun. Today there is still some controversy over Halloween, but none can dispute that this is a fun and enjoyable holiday for all, especially children who get to dress in Halloween costumes and collect sweets to eat.
As the years passed, this time of year became the time when young men would take to the streets and would rush to many of the houses demanding food and drink. If no such reward was given then they were free to perform tricks or acts of vandalism as punishment. In some cases, the farmers did not have food to hand out and some simply did not want to participate. In both cases, they might have pranks or tricks played upon them by the passing band of revellers for not providing food and drink.
Tales of children begging for treats, known as soul cakes was recorded during All Souls Day in the Middle Ages. Costumed revellers would also dance and parade through the town streets and ask for treats as rewards during certain times of the year in Medieval times. This was especially popular in England and Ireland. Guy Fawkes’ Day with fireworks, costumed participants, and bonfires added to the mix of Halloween wonder. The original Guy Fawkes’ Day occurred in 1605 on November 5th.
Trick or Treat
Today streets echo to the cry "Trick or Treat", but the first mention of that phrase did not occur until 1939 as the more modern celebration of Halloween that we are familiar with today really began. It was then that kids were allowed to dress-up in festive costumes moving from house to house in search of sweets and goodies - although it's now extremely unlikely that anyone failing to hand over treats would have their door knocked down and dumped in a ditch! Indeed it's generally understood that no tricks are to be played upon the homeowners if there are no treats handed over. Today Halloween is meant as a time to have fun for adults and children alike as they all enjoy the fun spirit of the season.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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