The true beginnings of holidays have always intrigued me.  The evolution of a holiday is like the passing of a message from one person to another.  The beginning of the line has nothing to do with the end of the line.

Halloween is the same.  Most believe it all started with the Celts about 2,000 years ago in the Ireland, UK, and France regions.  Their tribe began celebrating November 1st as their New Year which is unlike today’s of January 1st.  November first was the end of the summer and the beginning of winter.  The Celtic tribes saw winter as the a time of death and associated it with human death and named it All-Hallows.

OK, follow this line of thought – their New Year’s Eve was a day where the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead was “blurred”.   A celebration was brought about called Samhain (say it sow-in) because it was the day that those who have already passed on return and hurt their crops as well as menace the people.  It was also a day that the Druids (Celtic Priests) could prophecy.  These prophecies helped the clansmen endure the winters knowing the future of the next year.

The Druids created bonfires to sacrifice the crops and animals for their Celtic Gods.  At this time, the tribes wore costumes that consisted of animal heads and were cloaked with skins.  Fortunes were given and then the fire was put out and relit to protect them from the cold of the winter.

That was the beginning of All-hallows Eve.  When Rome took over the Celtic lands about 50 years later, two of their festivals merged with All-hallows Eve.  Feralia, the Roman day of passing of the dead and the day called Pomona, that of honoring the God Pomona who was the goddess of fruit and trees.  (Which for many people, explains the bobbing for apples.)

The Catholic church kept evolving All-hallows Eve in the dark ages to include Saints and martyrs and moved the dates back and forth until it finally settled back to the day and name we celebrate of Halloween.  Trick or treating is believed to have been created in England’s All Soul’s Day where the poorer classes would trade prayers for the family’s dead for food, eventually turning into “going a-souling” in which the children would go door to door and be given money, food, and of course, ale.

Halloween in the United States started rather softly due to the strict Protestants.  But in the 19th century when we were flooded with Irish immigrants, Halloween started to take it’s modern roots.  Just over a hundred years ago, the US culture softened the “scary” holiday to become a more family oriented evening of fun for the children through parades, food, and games.

Who knows what Halloween will develop into for our generations down the road, but modern Halloween is a night of fun for the young and their understanding Halloween’s definition is that of a night for candy and dressing up.

We here at Kehl Brothers Homes wish everyone a safe and fun Halloween!

http://www.history.com/topics/halloween