What is Halloween and why celebrate it
What is Halloween?
In the United States, Halloween is a holiday where everyone dresses up, has fun, and eats lots of candy. Historically, however, the holiday had a religious character and was in fact extremely important to all those who celebrated it.
When do we celebrate Halloween?
In America, Halloween is always celebrated on October 31st. Scotland, Ireland and of course Canada also celebrate with them.
In England, Halloween is not celebrated at all and in Mexico, people celebrate Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead which takes place from October 31st to November 2nd.
What is the story behind Halloween?
Halloween originates from Gaelic and Celtic rituals dating back at least 2,000 years.
The Gaelic festival of Samhain was traditionally held on November 1, to mark the official end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The celebrations always started the day before on October 31st.
It also comes from the three-day pagan religious festival celebrated by the Celts around October 31 to mark the harvest and prepare for the “dark half of the year.”
The word, Halloween, comes from the Scottish phrase “All Hallows” Eve, which simply described the night before All Saints’ Day, and the first recorded use of the word Halloween dates back to around 1555 AD.
Halloween has also been linked to the ancient Roman celebration of Pomona, the goddess of harvest and plenty.
Halloween today
In the 1930s, Halloween began to have the reputation it has today. Everyone started dressing up, celebrating it and in fact during the 20th and 21st centuries Halloween became one of the most commercial and profitable holidays.
Halloween traditions
How is Halloween celebrated today? Costumes, parties, games, candy are some of the ways one can celebrate this holiday. Of course, pumpkin carving cannot be missing from all of this. Around 1895 pumpkin carving began to become a tradition. As for the decor? It usually involves skeletons, ghosts and scary lanterns.
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