The History of Halloween

The Ancient Origins of Halloween Halloween dates back to the Ancient Celts. The Celts celebrated a festival on November 1st called Samhain, which celebrated the new year. Samhain celebrated the end of summer’s harvest and the beginning of a long dark, cold winter. This time of year was usually associated with human death. Why do you think the winter was associated with death? Think about

Where were the Ancient Celts from? The Celts lived over 2,000 years ago in now what is known as Ireland , the United Kingdom and northern France. Ireland The United Kingdom Northern France

On October 31, the Celts believed that ghosts could return to earth. They believed they could cause damage to their crops and cause trouble. They also believed ,on this night Celtic priests could make predications about one’s future.

Part of the celebration was to light huge bonfires The Celts burned crops and made animal sacrifices for the new year. During the celebration they wore costumes so ghosts would not recognize them After, the celebration the Celts lit their hearths from the bonfire to bring them protection from the winter

Trick or treat How did it all begin? During the Ancient Festival of Samhain food was left out for the unwelcome spirits. In later centuries people dressed up and went door to door, telling jokes, a poem or maybe danced for a treat on Halloween. Dressing up was known as ‘guising”

On Halloween poor children and adults would beg for food and in return they would pray for the family’s dead. This became known as “souling” . Children who did this were often known as soulers . Wealthier families would bake soul cakes and give them to the poor. It was believed that one soul cake equaled one prayer for a deceased family member. Soul Cakes

Why do we carve and light up pumpkins? The term Jack o’ lantern means man with a lantern. In Ireland, when children went from house to house on All Hallows Eve they carried hollowed out turnips with candles in them. They would carve scary faces on the turnips to ward off ghosts.

But why are they called Jack o’ lanterns? Legend tells us that once there was a stingy farmer who lived in Ireland named Jack . Jack decided to play a money trick on the devil. The devil was very upset with Jack. When he died Jack was not allowed in heaven or hell. So he wandered around with a turnip lit up for all of eternity.

Why did people start to carve pumpkins? When Irish immigrants arrived in America they found pumpkins were bigger and more plentiful than turnips. So, pumpkin carving began and the tradition continued!

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