Hallowe'en or All Hallows Eve
Hallowe'en goes back more than 2,000 years, to the Celts who lived in Britain and northern Europe. They not only celebrated the end of their harvest on 1 November, but that was also the day of Samhain (pronounced sah-wen), the Gaelic word meaning 'summer's end', when they honoured the dead.
The spirits of dead people were thought to roam around on that day looking for bodies to inhabit for the next year. The priests lit fires and offered sacrifices to appease the spirits, and the people dressed up in frightening costumes to scare them off.
When the Romans conquered the Celtic territories of Britain and northern Europe, they brought their own autumn festival, called Pomona Day, after their goddess of fruits and gardens. This is probably the origin of the tradition of apple bobbing. The two festivals eventually merged into one and, even when Christianity spread across the region, the people maintained their old customs.
The church eventually decided that, if they couldn't beat them, they would join them and,in 835AD, on the orders of the Pope, the Church moved All Saints Day – which was also called All Hallows or Hallowmas – from May to 1 November. Hallowe'en simply means All Hallows Eve
Later still, the Church designated 2 November as All Souls Day to honour the dead. In Mexico this is a huge event each year when people have reunions at family burial plots, eat special foods and make offerings to the dead on elaborately decorated altars in their homes.
Today the different traditions are all mixed up. One of the favourites – the jack o'lantern – comes from an Irish folktale about Jack, who tricked the Devil. When he died, he couldn't get into either heaven or hell but was condemned to wander in eternal darkness. The Devil gave Jack an ember placed in a hollowed-out turnip to help him see his way. In Scotland and Ireland, jack o'lanterns are still made of turnips, though in many places now, in a tradition that has come back to Europe from America, they are made from pumpkins.
Take care! Dress up well!
