Why do people celebrate halloween?

Question

Do people who celebrate halloween know what it means?

Or they just join in the celebration because others are celebrationg.

celebrating haloween because of candy doesnt give any meaning to it because you can always eat a candy any day you want....Except if you are too poor to afford candies...So whats the point of celebrating halloween then. At least you must have an idea of what you celebrate....

Answer 1

I think that people celebrate it now days because it's just the thing to do. I know that when I was in school, they tried to tell us what halloween was about, but at that age all I was worried about was getting a halloween costume and some candy.

Answer 2

Samhain (pronounced SOW-ahn, which means "summer's end") is the Celtic Feast of the Dead. In our era it is called Halloween, or All Hallows Eve (being the eve before All Saints Day). Though the observance of Samhain is shrouded in mystery, it is actually a memorial day. It is the traditional time in western ancestry for the living to remember loved ones who have passed away. It is believed that the veil separating the world of the living and the world of the dead is thinnest on this day. Those who have died during the year can cross over to the next world, and those on the other side still awaiting reincarnation can visit the living.

Halloween is very much a part of the Christian tradition, as well as a part of the ancestral traditions of the west. Its Christian roots date to around 397 C.E. according to the New Advent Catholic Encyclopaedia.1 It was observed in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Gaul (present-day France).

Also called Third Harvest and Winter's Beginning, this holiday marks the end of the old year, and beginning of the new year. In some traditions, it is the beginning of "'Tween Time," a section of the calendar set aside for rest. In this tradition, it marks the end of the old year, but the new year is not inaugurated until the re-birth of the Sun at Yule (December 21). In Mexico, where connections to the ancestral past are strengthened by deep family ties, it is called Dia del los Muertos, "Day of the Dead."

Regardless of the traditions you cherish at this time of the year, may the memories of your loved ones be as sweet as Halloween treats.

Halloween was brough to the US by the Irish during the 1800s.

Answer 3

I am a pagan, and Halloween is the one day of the year when the veil between this world and the next is the thinnest and I can communicate with my loved ones who have passed on.

I also give out candy to trick-or-treaters.

Answer 4

The Truth About Halloween

Don't let common stereotypes about this holiday fool you
To most people, Halloween is a fun holiday to dress up and eat candy. Well, even Pagans like to eat candy on Halloween, but we consider it to be a very important holiday in a more spiritual sense as well.
The proper name for the occassion is Samhain (pronounced Sow-en). It's sometimes referred to as the Witches New Year, because our religious year starts/ends with Samhain. The holiday began being called "Halloween" because the Catholic church created All Saints Day (or All Hallows Day) on November 1st, in an attempt to turn people away from the original Pagan holiday. The night before became known as "All Hallows Eve", which then got shortened up to Halloween.

If you are concerned about the Pagan nature of October 31st, then you should probably stop celebrating Christmas and Easter, too.

Though those holidays have been thoroughly adopted by the Christian religion, they were both originally Pagan celebrations (Yule and Ostara). Halloween is the only holiday that has kept most of its Pagan meanings, without the Christian overtones.
Many fundamentalist Christian groups stand against the celebration of Halloween because they feel it is associated with demons and Satan. Unfortunately, most (if not all) of their 'facts' are incorrect.

The most common error, is that Halloween is celebrated to honour the Celtic God of the Dead, Samhain. The Celts had no such God. The word "Samhain" more likely came from "samhuinn", which is the Gaelic word for "summer's end". A fitting name, since that is precisely what this holiday is celebrating.

There is nothing Satanic about Halloween, either in modern times, or in the early history of the festival. Of course, there is nothing Satanic about any aspects of Wicca, witchcraft or Paganism, but that's another story altogether. We don't celebrate black masses, conduct sacrifices or cast hexes on Halloween (or any other day!)

So now you know what Halloween isn't, but what does Halloween mean? Well, to Pagans who celebrate Samhain, it is the third and last of the year's harvest festivals. The crops are in, and it's time to relax and prepare for the long winter ahead. Samhain is a time to reflect on the events of the past year, and to remember those who have passed away. It's at this time of the year that spirits travel from this world to the next. Both good and evil spirits.

Part of the mythology of the holiday is that the God dies at Samhain, and the Goddess mourns Him until His rebirth at Yule. It is Her mourning that brings about the shorter, cold days of winter. After His birth at Yule, the days begin to get longer again.

Many of the symbols and traditions that we see around Halloween today can be traced to earlier times. Carving of jack-o-lanterns probably started with turnips rather than pumpkins, but the idea is the same either way. With the spirits of the dead travelling on this day, people would carve faces into turnips (or gourds or whatever) in order to scare away any evil spirits. The dressing up in costumes was also done to scare off bad spirits.

The idea of playing tricks was not done maliciously, but just as a way of having a bit of fun before the long dark winter settled in. The original gathering of treats was done to provide offerings to the Gods, in thanks for the harvest.

Personally, I leave a candle lit in the window along with a food offering for the spirits that might pass my way.

One last word. Many fundamentalist Christian groups have a strong negative bias towards any religion that is different from their own. Please keep this in mind when reading their websites for more 'truth' about Halloween.

Answer 5

i do no longer understand the place you have been doing all your learn notwithstanding it quite is obviously no longer with something written via any historian of be conscious. am i able to characterize the books written via Ronald Hutton, Professor of background at Bristol college, England and a expert in pre-Christian ecu paganism? extremely "Stations of the sunlight". Hutton is a pagan sympathiser yet nonetheless concludes that. a million. Halloween originated because of fact the Eve of All Saints Day and there is not any historic evidence of any pagan impression., 2. Easter is Christian and that's uncertain that there ever become a goddess referred to as "Eostre" or "Ostara". 3. The date of Christmas become settled long till now Christianity reached Norse lands. The date become set in Rome the place none of this become of any magnitude. after all, yule must be celebrated any time between early December and late January. The affiliation with Christmas occurred because of fact kings and nobles moved their "yule" dinner occasion to Christmas. the clarification some Christians, extremely interior the USA, do no longer celebrate Halloween is puritanism. whilst in charge, puritans attacked various Catholic stuff - alongside with All Saints and its Eve. every person who carried on celebrating become denounced as a devil worshipper, a witch or a pagan. no longer actual, in simple terms propaganda yet nevertheless appreciably believed.

Answer 6

Halloween(Samhain) is the biggest religious holiday for a lot of people. We celebrate it for the same reasons you celebrate Christmas, because it is a religiously important day for us.

Answer 7

it celebrates All Hallows Eve. The night before All Saints Day

Answer 8

I celbrate it because it's an exuse to get all dressed up and eat candy! Heres a better question, why do we celebrate Columbus Day? It was just a slaughter of innocent indians

Answer 9

I think it's a very festive holiday. And I too know where it derived from. That was then this is now. Live life to the fullest & if that means dressing up like a Witch for one night out of the year then I save "yeah buddy".

Happy haunting :)

Answer 10

halloween is the best holiday ever! okay maybe christmas but.. Halloween is just so much fun that it is great to celebrate it! even handing out candy is fun. and it gives pleasure to so many kids. halloween means day before all saints day.
I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh, and the cady's good too.