The History of All Souls Day

The History of All Souls Day the early Halloween

The month of October is the month of haunts and frights which most people know as Halloween night; ghostly stories have been brought from this night such as the headless horse-riding knight. But the day you know was not always celebrated the way it’s displayed, so join my tale and read these writing because today what it truly was will now be brought into the light.

Halloween began as a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2021 will occur on Sunday, October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts; this dated back over 200 years ago! The reason why it is celebrated on the 31st of every October was from the fact that this day marked the end of summer, the harvest, and the beginning of the dark, chilly winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. They stated that on this day boundaries of the living and the dead become blurred and when that happened who knows whether the dead come to us or we go to the dead.

Reasons for the Celtic festival of Samhain:

• “Celtics thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.”
• “It brought comfort to known what would happen during these cold winters.”   

How the Celtic festival is celebrated

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 fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

The Romans ties to Halloween?

During 43 A.D the Roman empire had conquered most of the Celtic territory. It was within these 2 cultures that the Romans and Celtics combined their traditions creating a 2-day festival. 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 tree.

All Souls Day/saints day the early Halloween

In 1000 A.D., the church made November 2, All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday.

How is all Souls Day/saints day is celebrated

All Soul’s day is celebrated like Samhain festival with a big bonfire as well as parades and people dress up in costumes of saints, angles, and devils. This festival was also known for its other name All-Hallows Eve.

How did Halloween Come to America?

The origins of Halloween were limited to New England in short Halloween in old days was more common in Maryland and the southern colonies it was during the merger of Europeans culture and American Indians culture that Halloween started to appear in America until it became the new norm.

The History Behind Trick or Treat

It was during souls’ day (the combination of Rome and Celics festivals brought into 1) in which the idea of trick or treat became known by when poorer people would visit the houses of the wealth and would receive soul cakes in exchange for promising to pray for the souls of, their dead relatives. This practice was later taken by children who would knock door to door for food, money, or gifts, it was in places such as Scotland and Ireland in which young people would have instead of prayer for the souls of the houseowner relatives they would tell or show some kind of trick in return of a treat.

Fun facts:

• By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide Halloween parties as the featured entertainment.
• The reason black cats are shown to be bad luck is from in the Middle Ages it was said that witches would turn into black cats to avoid capture.
• Americans are predicted to spend $2.6 billion buying candy for Halloween.
• More than 90% of all candy sales happen in the states during the month of October.

Halloween

Halloween 2021, “no name title”, April 27, 2021 (www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween)