| The History of Halloween Halloween has ancient origins in the United Kingdom. It seems to be a version of the ancient Celtic holiday called "Samhain" (sow' an) celebrating the end of harvest and the beginning of the new year. The Druids, a Celtic religious group, brought in Saman, the Lord of the Dead. They believed that the dead were allowed to wander on earth in search of living bodies to take over and turn into evil witches. People made themselves and their homes as undesirable as possible to keep the spirits away by wearing costumes, masks, being loud and obnoxious, and keeping their homes cold and dark. With the onset of Christianity in the U.K., the celebration shifted into "Halloween." The Scottish referred to October 31st, the night before All Saints Day, a Catholic holiday honoring those who had died in the faith, as "Hallowe'en." In Old English, "hallow," means to sanctify. The Irish came up with trick-or-treating when peasants went door-to-door demanding food to celebrate. Homeowner's gave them "soul cakes" to prevent bad curses and encourage prayers that would help them get into heaven. The Scottish had a special cake called "Dumb Bannock." They baked this cake on Halloween to predict who would be married in the coming year. The English added bobbing for apples: whoever bit into an apple first, would be married first the next year. Halloween in America The Irish brought the holiday to the United States in the 1840's. American's adopted the Jack-o-Lantern, a tradition started in Ireland as a result of folklore. Special decorations went up using colors that reflect the ancient origins: orange signifying harvest and black signifying death. Skeletons were added from the Day of the Dead festival celebrated in Mexico. Candy was chosen over soul cakes, costumes became funny as well as scary, and the first card made its appearance in 1920. In 1950, a group of Sunday school children decided to trick-or-treat for money for needy children rather than candy. They raised and donated $17.00 and started the tradition of trick-or-treating for UNICEF. |
| HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN |
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