Hi Puzzlers,
It is getting closer to one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. My front porch and yard have been decorated with all the traditional autumn favorites, as well as with, cute versions of spooky creatures like witches, ghosts, spiders and a stuffed Dracula. He looks like the Count from Sesame Street, very cute and friendly. With all my electronic decorations I need my own small power plant to keep them running. This fun holiday has been celebrated for centuries and has a rich history.
It is believed that the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, enunciated “sow-in” is where Halloween originated. This three-day festival, which was held annually, began on October 31st. It marked the end of the harvest and ushered in the beginning of winter. It was commonly believed that during this magical time, ghost, fairies, demons and the spirits of the dead were free to mingle with the living and travel into the under world.
Druid Priests would meet on hilltops and light fires into which they offered sacrifices of animals and crops to appease the gods. In the morning the priest would take a hot ember to each family who would then start a new cooking fire. These embers/fires kept the home warm and evil spirits out.
Villagers also lit bonfires and sacrificed animals, fruits and vegetables, to honor the dead and to assist them with their travel to the underworld. The fires also served to keep the spirits away from the living. “Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of animals representing various gods of nature.”
Some speculate that All Saints Day, a Catholic holiday normally celebrated on May 13th, was moved by Pope Gregory III to November 1st in 835A.D, as an attempt to take over the pagan holiday. Traditional animal costumes used to chase spirits away were banished and villagers were encouraged to honor deceased saints by dressing up as them. So this is how costumes became a part of Halloween, one mystery solved!
In our next blog we will look at all the superstitions and traditions associated with Halloween.
Happy Puzzling!
It is getting closer to one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. My front porch and yard have been decorated with all the traditional autumn favorites, as well as with, cute versions of spooky creatures like witches, ghosts, spiders and a stuffed Dracula. He looks like the Count from Sesame Street, very cute and friendly. With all my electronic decorations I need my own small power plant to keep them running. This fun holiday has been celebrated for centuries and has a rich history.
It is believed that the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, enunciated “sow-in” is where Halloween originated. This three-day festival, which was held annually, began on October 31st. It marked the end of the harvest and ushered in the beginning of winter. It was commonly believed that during this magical time, ghost, fairies, demons and the spirits of the dead were free to mingle with the living and travel into the under world.
Druid Priests would meet on hilltops and light fires into which they offered sacrifices of animals and crops to appease the gods. In the morning the priest would take a hot ember to each family who would then start a new cooking fire. These embers/fires kept the home warm and evil spirits out.
Villagers also lit bonfires and sacrificed animals, fruits and vegetables, to honor the dead and to assist them with their travel to the underworld. The fires also served to keep the spirits away from the living. “Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of animals representing various gods of nature.”
Some speculate that All Saints Day, a Catholic holiday normally celebrated on May 13th, was moved by Pope Gregory III to November 1st in 835A.D, as an attempt to take over the pagan holiday. Traditional animal costumes used to chase spirits away were banished and villagers were encouraged to honor deceased saints by dressing up as them. So this is how costumes became a part of Halloween, one mystery solved!
In our next blog we will look at all the superstitions and traditions associated with Halloween.
Happy Puzzling!
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