HALLOWEEN

THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

The origin of Halloween go back very far to the ancient Celts. The Celts lived in the British Isles during ancient times. The last day of year on the old pagan calendar, October 31^st, served the triple purpose of bidding goodbye to summer, welcoming winter and remembering the dead. This day was called "Samhain". On the evening of October 31^st and the day of November 1^st, the Celtic priest called Druids, used to honour Samhain, the god of death. According to Celtic legend, Samhain controlled the spirit of the deads and could allow them to rest peace fully or make them go wild on this night. The Celtic believed that on the night of October 31^st,ghosts come out of their tombs. The spirit of dead returned to heart. Druids made big fire to frighten the spirit of evil and death. On October 31^st, they also predicted the future. The Celtic people dressed in scary costumes to frighten the evil spirits. They dressed as witches, ghosts and skeletons. They also played games to bring good luck in the new year.

After the Roman invasion in 43 AD, Samhain also became a harvest festival. Rome had a festival honouring the goddess Pomona who ruled fruits and garden. The Romans pictured her as a beautiful maiden, her arms filled with fruit and a crown of apples on her head. Nuts, fruits and apples were part of the Samhain ceremonies. Apples were sacred and lucky.

The colours of Halloween are orange and black. They represent the harvest (orange) and the death (black).

After the Roman invasion, Christian rites substituted pagan rites. For the Christians the first day of November was the day of All Saints. It was called All Allows Day (the day of All Saints). The

evening of October 31^st was All Allows Eve. This was shortened to Halloween. The druid religion went on for a long time in Ireland and Scotland. Halloween continued to be important in both places. In XIX century, Irish immigrants brought their Halloween costumes to the United States. Now Halloween is one of the biggest festivities in USA. The date is on every calendar.

HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS

Halloween means "All Hallows Eve", the evening before All Saints. Halloween is a popular event in America , Great Britain and Ireland. Both adults and children alike celebrate All Saints Eve. The children dress up in funny clothes and masks .They go round the houses, ring the door- bells and say: "Trick or treat". People give them some candy, fruit, money, or they play a trick , like writing on windows with soap, ringing door-bell, spray shaving cream on cars, dumping garbage can. People make faces out of large pumpkins and put candles inside: this is called Jack O'Lantern. They cut out ghosts and spectres and even skeletons and put them in their windows. Teenagers in middle school and high school have a Halloween party and dance. The party is in the evening in the school gymnasium. After the school party, everyone helps to clean up. At home and at school children play games such as "dunking for apples", "apples on a string", and others. Typical Halloween food is nuts, popcorn, pumpkin pie, liquorice, sweets and candied apples. The Halloween drink is apple cider.

In North America, It was believed that it was unlucky for a black cat to come into their homes or travel on their ships. In the United States trick-or-treaters are welcomed by placing lighted pumpkins known as Jack-o'-Lanterns in their windows. The North American tradition of trick or treat comes from the original idea that you must be kind to dead ancestors or they will play a trick on you. Neopagans of North America honor their ancestors on October 31. It was once believed that on this night any souls who had not yet passed into the paradise of the summer lands might return to wander the streets and visit their old homes once more. Neopagans celebrate the festival today as a turning point between the old and the new year, as well, the date of October 31 as the gateway between the worlds. Many neopagans believe that, on the eve of Samhain, the veil that separates each world that of the living and that of the dead is at its thinnest and that on this night, there is a better chance of being successful in communicating with their ancestors.

In Spain also a special pastry known as the Bones of the Holy is eaten on this day. November 1 has become a public holiday. On All Saints' Day Catholics attend church services in honor of the saints, the martyrs and those who have died for the Catholic faith. People may also visit their family’s graves to beautify them with wreaths and small lanterns. Sometimes a mass is said at the gravesite and the grave sprinkled with holy water.

JACK-O-LANTERN

Jack, it seems, was a bad man. He kept all his money to himself. He wouldn't help people for all of his life. When Jack died, he wasn't allowed into Heaven because he was such a miser: a person who wouldn't share his money. It seems that Jack also had played tricks on the Devil, who wouldn't let him into hell, either. Jack was stuck. He had to walk the earth, holding a lantern, until Judgment Day. This is the story that has been handed down to us by the Irish people who came to America in the 1800s. They carved their turnips into the face of "Jack-of-the-lantern" to remind themselves what happened to people who were misers. And in the fall, pumpkins are much easier to ferns. So that's why Americans today carve their pumpkins into jack-o-lant.