how did holloween ariginated and what is the purpose of it?

Question

I don't understand why the celebration of holloween and what it purpse is or what passing out candy has to do with it or why we dress up to go door to door

Answer 1

Work on spelling please :)

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, 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 year that was often associated with human death. 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. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

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

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

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 trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Answer 2

My breed develop into created just to maintain me waiting on them!!!. heavily, they're between the oldest, if no longer the oldest historic breed. they have DNA of the comparable era as a results of fact the wolf and coyote.(30,000 to one hundred fifty,000 years in the past) they appear like a 'organic dogs' and are talked approximately as by way of the natives of their origins, as Noah's dogs, as they have been around as long as their commonplace historic previous. So, what have been they bred for? nicely, they have been used to seek. i'm not sure that they have got been formally 'bred'. They hunted gazelle and leopard.. They have been additionally herding canines, and nevertheless have reliable herding instincts. They have been never fed by way of their masters, yet set unfastened to seek at night, for their own sustenance. They have been sheared each and each twelve months, on the comparable time as a results of fact the flocks, and their hair develop into used to make headwear and undies, because it develop into softer than wool, and had no scent while moist. an exciting fact, that has stored the breed organic over the various generations. The women will hardly breed with yet another breed. different breeds do no longer recognize their pheromones, and the ladies tutor no interest in the different male dogs. Many women are dependable to their first mate, and could no longer mate with a dogs who's a stranger. the only time you get a mixed breed, is that if the two have been raised at the same time ( %.) or an occasional thinking male. at the instant, they're used for predator administration and the sport of lurecoursing...and coaching their vendors endurance!

Answer 3

It was a pagan holiday (especially among the Celts) until the Christians appropriated it (and the solstice celebrations) in order to aid conversion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Answer 4

in spain its where all saints day it came from that soo