The Sandspur

Issue date: 10/28/05 Section: Life & Times

Media Credit: © 2004. THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY TRICK OR TREAT: Mickey Mouse welcomes trick-or-treaters to Mickey´s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party throughout the month of October.

Halloween has not always been a night when kids can dress up and ring doorbells throughout their neighborhood screaming "trick-or-treat," and receive bags full of candy. The holiday began over 2,000 years ago. The history behind Halloween seems to be completely different than the way the holiday is celebrated today. A lot has changed through the centuries.

Halloween developed from an ancient festival celebrated by Celtic people over 2,000 years ago in the area that is now the United Kingdom, Ireland, and northwestern France. The Celts 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 the year that was often associated with human death.

The 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. The Celts also believed that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Celtic priests to make predictions about the future. For people entirely dependent on the natural world, these predictions were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the even, the Celts built huge sacred bonfires, where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices for the Celtic Gods. During this celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.

By 43 A.D., Roman had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of four hundred years two Roam festival originated. The first was Feralia, a day late in 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 which most likely explain where the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today.

In the 800's, the Christian church established a new holiday, "All Saints' Day," on this date. "All Saints' Day" was also called "All Hallows'." Hallow means saint, or one who is holy. The evening before "All Hallows'" was known as "All Hallows' Eve, or as it came to be abbreviated, "All Hallow e'en." This name was eventually shortened to Halloween.

Today, Halloween is a popular holiday that takes place on Oct. 31, which is almost here. In the United States and Canada, children dress in costumes and go trick-or-treating. Many people also carve jack-o'-lanterns out of pumpkins.

Halloween parties for children often feature fortunetelling, mock haunted houses, scary stories, and games, such as bobbing for apples. People decorate their houses and yards with images of ghosts, skeletons, witches, black cats, bats, and other symbols of Halloween. Many communities across the United States also hold parades and other celebrations for Halloween.

In Ireland and Canada, Halloween, which was once a frightening and superstitious time of year, is celebrated much as it is here in the United States, with trick-or-treating, costume parties, and fun for all ages.

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