holloween
Halloween (or Hallowe’en) is a holiday celebrated on October 31, particularly in the United States where it has been heavily commercialized. [1]
Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films. [2]
The harvest was gathered in to protect against the wintry blast of the faeries’ breath, and Samhain was an occasion for thanksgiving, sacrifices, divination and prayers. [3]
Halloween (or Hallowe’en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. [2]
Contrary to what one might think, this 3,000-year-old Aztec holiday is actually a joyous celebration. [3]
Wearing costumes dates back to the Celtic tradition of dressing up in animal costumes to mark the end of summer and the coming of winter. [4]
The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. [...] During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. [5]
With the acceptance of Christianity, the dates of the pre-Christian festivals were used as occasions for church feast and holy days. [3]
It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints’ Day from May 13 (which had itself been the date of a pagan holiday, the Feast of the Lemures) to November 1. [1]
Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. [5]
In the United States, trick-or-treating is now one of the main traditions of Halloween and it has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters. [1]
Keep up with the latest History shows, online features, special offers and more. [5]
The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the “Celtic New Year.” [1]
Currently you’re able to find the nation’s premier haunted houses, costumes, pumpkins, crafts, monsters, Halloween party information and more. [6]
Sources:
[1] Halloween - New World Encyclopedia
[2] Halloween - Wikipedia
[3] Halloween: Definition from Answers.com
[4] Halloween on the Net
[5] Halloween ‘ History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts
[6] Halloween.com