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| Ancient Harvest Celebrations Most scholars can trace the beginnings of what became our modern Halloween back as far as 4000 b.c. These ancient people were very connected to the land, their animals and their crops. Their year was divided by the seasons; the warm and growing time and the time when the earth grew cold and plant life died. Both times were marked with a celebration. Bonfires were lit, singing and dancing marked the occasion: the last hurrah before winter. The Celts The Celtic people gave Halloween it's original same of Samhain (usually pronounced sow-en) meaning "summer's end". The Celts believed that on Samhain the veils between the worlds of the living and the dead dissolved, allowing the spirits of the dead to commune with the living. This also allowed the living to see into other realms, so the use of divination to determine the coming year was common practice. It was also the Celts who honored their dead with offerings of food, which would later evolve into our modern "Trick or Treat". The Celts also believed that the faeries roamed freely that night, making mischief and causing trouble. Samhain and the Rise of "Non-Pagan" Religion With the growth of Christianity in Europe came the clash of pagan beliefs and Church doctrine. When the pagans refused to give up ancient folk practices, such as Samhain, the church changed it's holidays to coincide with pagan ones. Thus Samhain was now All Hallows Eve, and Yule became Christmas. The faeries of the Celts became demons and devils. (It should be noted that the Celts did not have a concept of a "devil"). The Christian church hoped that pagans would abandon their old beliefs and holidays for the new ones. But that did not happen. In every village there were wise ones, healers, sages and mystics, who helped the people with medicine, magic and advice. Many were women, and some were branded as 'witches' and burned or hanged- sometimes under the authority of the church and the Inquisition; often under the authority of local hysteria and courts. This is where the pointed-hatted witch gets her evil reputation. The cauldron, the broom, the black cat- all tools of the devil instead of household necessities. Witches, said the authorities, are worshippers of the devil, his evil minions. Even if, under extreme torture, a women confessed, she was still put to death to cleanse her soul. The majority of those who died were not practicing witchcraft at all; many were the victims of personal or political agendas. This is what is referred to by Witches as the Burning Times. During the Burning Times it is now estimated that 40,000 to 60,000 people were murdered. Halloween Comes to America It is most often represented that the Irish brought the customs of Halloween to America. But this can actually be credited to immigrants from many countries. In the mid to late 1800's, over seven million people came to settle in the "New World", each with it's own harvest traditions. It was the Victorian era that can be credited with pushing aside the historical facts behind Halloween, and celebrating instead it's social nature. Adult parties, costumes and games were the order of the day. Social Changes and Halloween Celebrations So what brought Halloween around to focus on the children? Two words: Mischief Night. It became a custom that the night before Halloween (Oct. 30) was a night of mischief: soaped and greased windows, stolen outhouses, etc. But as mischief grew to vandalism in the 1920's, parties and activities to keep children harmlessly occupied began to occur. And the rest is what we have come to know, and history! |
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