News: Halloween
Halloween
• All Hallow’s Eve
• 31st October
• Celtic tradition
Short history…
Halloween is a time of celebration and
superstition. It is thought to have
originated with the ancient Celtic
festival of Samhain, when people
would light bonfires and wear
costumes to ward off roaming ghosts.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III
designated November 1 as a time to
honor all saints and martyrs; the
holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated
some of the traditions of Samhain. The
evening before was known as All
Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over
time, Halloween evolved into a secular,
community-based event characterized
by child-friendly activities such as trickor-treating. In a number of countries
around the world, as the days grow
shorter and the nights get colder,
people continue to usher in the winter
season with gatherings, costumes and
sweet treats.
„Trick
Or
Treat?”
Ancient orgin of Halloween
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.
Are you scared?
- What room does a ghost not
need?
- A living room!
Halloween 2016