Ancient Origins Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween. By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas. So now we know!!!! (Sent to me by e.mail.)
Very good read Eileen, some of it sounds familiar (especially the Celtic aspect) so I must have learned about it in school sometime. It's amazing to think that people used to be so suspicious. I'm glad its not like that anymore. In Ireland we have a strange tradition of baking stuff into breads: Source: http://www.ireland-information.com/arti ... itions.htm The main bread manufacturers keep up this tradition and sell breads in the shops that contain a toy rings made of a light metal. It always struck me as a bit dangerous but I never heard of anyone dying from it.
We do something similar at Christmas here in Scotland Frank. We make a 'clootie dumpling' and wrap silver sixpences (handed down through the generations) in grease-proof paper twists and put them in the heavy, fruity mix. Children get served first to see who is going to be prosperous in the future.
Ever find a sixpence when you were younger Eileen? I don't think I ever got the ring. Probably explains why I'm not married
Nope 'cause my mother always made sure my younger sister got the bit with the sixpence in it!! :cry: Didn't do much for her though as she's divorced and doesn't have a lot of money. Maybe it only works if you find the sixpence for yourself.
One of the things they are doing here for Halloween is that the farmers are creating corn Maizes. They take a corn field and cut some of the stalks down to create a maize for people to try to walk through. They give each group a pole with a red flag on it so the operators of it can track them to make sure everyone is out of it before dark! They charge admission and make more money from that, than if they actually picked the corn and sold it. Then after Halloween, they can pick the left over corn and make even more money off of it!
That's a great economical and fun idea. I've never done one of those hedge maze thingies, I'm sure they are a lot of fun. Bobbing for apples has always been my favourite but I have not done that since I was a young 'un. Have any favourite Halloween games when you were younger?
Tippin over the outhouse is the only one I can think of now! Now it would be called tipping over the Porta-Potty or water closet!
When I was a kid there were a lot of outhouses around. And tipping them over, without getting caught, was the think to do. Whether there was someone in them or not!
Hi guys I dont know if this should be posted here or whether I should've started a new topic (but Im sure u can move it if Im wrong ) Coming up to christmas I thought I could provide a similar story for it... Christmas may very well be the oldest holiday that is shared across the many cultures of the world; it is traditionally celebrated during the winter season (or even the warm summer season if you count Australia, where Christmas is celebrated as an official holiday). Before Christmas was celebrated, people were finding time to celebrate in Europe during the winter holiday before the birth of Jesus Christ ever even occurred! The Winter Solstice has always been a time to celebrate and rejoice; it is celebrated on December 21 in the northern hemisphere and it was after the Winter Solstice that the worst part of the year was behind them. It was at that point during the year that the days began to get longer, giving the people more time to spend outside on their crops and tending to their animals. In Scandinavia during the Winter Solstice, men and their sons used to go in to the woods to cut a tree down. After the tree had been felled, a nicely sized log was cut out of it, and the men would carry the log back to the home. This log was dubbed a Yule Log, and the Yule log was burned in the fireplace. The entire time the Yule log burned, the family would feast. Often times the Yule log might burn for a whole twelve days! Of course, as the Yule log burned it sent sparks out of the hearth and as the sparks flew out of the fire place, the family would count the sparks and each spark stood for a farm animal (a cow, a goat, a pig, etc) that would be born on their property that year. It is important to note that farm animals were signs of wealth back then. Saturnalia is a celebration of the Winter Solstice that occurred in ancient pagan Rome. Saturnalia was celebrated in honor of the god of agriculture, who was named Saturn. During the time of Saturnalia, the entire Roman empire is in a state of social disarray. Servants and peasants spend time with and celebrate the holiday with people of higher classes, which was a rarity back then. The Saturnalia festival in itself can last as long as an entire week in Rome. During that time, people rejoiced all over the country of Rome. The phrase 'eat, drink, and be merry' was played out to its fullest. Shops and businesses are closed during the Festival of Saturnalia. Following the first week of Saturnalia, the festival itself usually ends, but the Saturnalia period itself does not end.
ben236 Hi Ben , you have an interesting occupation, i bet you dont get many vampires around your house Seriously though do you grow much?what would be a typical season? Here in Ireland I tell people as a rough guide to sow on the shortest day and harvest on the longest day depending on the weather. Bugs
lol no vampires.......but also no friends over to visit either I grow on the mid north coast of NSW, Australia. This year was my first year so I only started with 1/4 acre. I will go to 1/2 acre next year. In this part of the world we normally plant late March/early April and then ive just finished picking now (early Dec.)
