What Pagan Festival is Halloween?

Question

Can you Braniacs please tell me what Halloween is all about,ie where it comes from?
We have a dispute which needs settling once and for all,I say it is to do with the burning of the witches years ago but, I am told this is not true and, it used to be some kind of Christian ceremony,not being religious I am not 100% certain but there is money resting on the solution.
Have I lost again?

Answer 1

Absolutely Halloween - Samhain

Samhain was known in Ireland as the "Lord of Darkness". The Druid religion was practised by ancient Celtic tribes that populated Ireland and parts of Europe. This religion worshipped Samhain, the Lord of Darkness. Some writings also speak of Samhain as the "Lord of the Dead". But scholars suggest that this is incorrect.

The Druid New Year began on November 1st. It is also known as the "Feast of Samhain". The Celts only recognized summer and winter seasons. Literally translated, Samhain means "Summer's End". At this time, the hours of nighttime were growing significantly over the hours of sunlight. Hence, Lord Samhain reigned over the long winter months as the influence of the Sun god and the summer season (Beltaine or Beltane) preceded. Samhain's influence grows with the increase in the hours of darkness, as he can only roam the earth during hours of darkness.

The Druids believed that on their New Year's Eve, all of the people who died in the past year would rise up and search for the passageway to the netherworld. On this night the passageway or "veil" between both worlds was it's thinnest. Lord Samhain would roam the earth in search of these souls to capture them and take them to his world of darkness. To this day, some people put lights in their windows to help the dead find their way and keep Lord Samhain away.

The Druid religion, dating back to about 200BC, had priests and priestesses. These magicians (or soothsayers or wizards) filled the most important roles in Celtic culture. At the time the Celtic tribes were close to nature. As a result, they worshipped many things in nature as their gods. But no Druid god was more powerful nor feared than Lord Samhain.

Some of the roots of Halloween are traced back to the Druid religion and Lord Samhain. Certainly, Halloween took aspects of darkness , black color, evil spirits, and people rising from the dead and roaming the earth on this night. These themes of Halloween are all common with this religion.

Pope Gregory II moved the Christian holiday of "All Hallows Eve" from May 13 to November 1st to coincide with the Feast of Samhain. This was an effort by the catholic church to downplay the pagan festival. Hopefully, they reasoned, it would replace Samhain and the pagan celebration would fade away. The pagan festival continued to be celebrated and Halloween evolved largely from it. Today, the Catholic church tolerates the Halloween, recognizing it is a fun holiday and not intended to hold religious or other supernatural beliefs or religion.

Answer 2

It is Samhain, and take place on the day of the Equinox of Autumn (Fall in USA). Recently it marks the change oftime on our clocks.
It dates from the Celtic times (Irelant-France-Scotland) and a long time before our Christian Era when these lands were covered by wild forests and the handsome Deer Stag was honored as a deity.
It was the feast of the Dead retourning on that day to visit their loved ones. The flame of a candle, and numerous candles, would be lit and would burn during the night to revive in memory the soul of the Dead and sweets would be offered. Children disguised as old people would claim those sweets or else would play tricks.
The Christian Era could not eradicate this ancient custom and supplanted it with the All Saints Day and gave Pagans bad names like sorcerers, heretics and more, for whoever would not accept the new Roman religion.It was then said by the Church that it was the religion of the Devil, satanists and black witches, male and female alike.
Nowdays, on that day, people bring an offering of flowers to the tomb of their loved ones in cimetaries and at night Halloween takes over with many different way of thinking about the Dead.
Amitiés. Salut.

Answer 3

Its a British and Irish celebration originally. Not just "Irish Scottish and French!!!!" There were Celts in what are today England and Wales too!!!

The pagan Celts of what is today Britain and Ireland celebrated their new year on 1 November (known as "Samhain") . On the night before, the last night of the old year they would dress up, tell fortunes, light bonfires and commemorate their dead ancestors. This was a time when the "veil" between the two worlds was drawn aside and the dead could return. It was also the time when the "old year" died to be reborn again.

There were regional variations in how it was celebrated but it was basically a smiliar celebration all over the British Isles.

The Christian church turned Celtic New Year into "All Saints Day" or "All Hallows Day" but that still made the night before a bit special - people beleived that if all the good spirits were commemorated on All Hallows Day then the night before was the night when all the mischievous spirits and goblins came out and so All Hallows Eve or Hallowe'en became a celebration of mischief, magic and spookiness. In variations of much more ancient Samhain rituals, people would dress up and go "guising" (similar to trick or treat), carve lanterns out of turnips and swedes (to scare away evil spirits), play games, light bonfires, bob for apples etc.

It fell out of favour with the Christians however and died down very much in Britain at least although I beleive it carried on in some form in Ireland much longer.

The emigrants who went to America took it with them - they substitued pumpkins for turnips, changed guising into trick or treat and made much more of the festival.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

The pagan festival far predates the witch burnings. It is often called Samhain. It is not Christian, but pagan. By the way, did you know that Christianity is a strange blend of pagan and Christian festivals and symbology? I think you split the bet here. It's not Christian, but it is not about witchburning either.

Answer 6

It's "All Saints day" but in Ireland they called it "All Hallows' Eve" later shortened to "Halloween". (Hallow means holy.) Pope Gregory III moved the All Saints Day to a date where there were many different pagan rituals celebrated to try and make people forget the pagan celebrations. Two pagan celebrations I know of is Samhain and the Norse Elven Blót.

I've never heard anything about it being celebrated because of the burning of witches.

Edit to add;
"Popular literature over the last century has given birth to the near universal assumption that Samhain and folkways of Hallowe'en, was the "Celtic New Year". ... there is a huge volume of proof of the western world, including late Celtia, as having begun their calendars either at the end of December or around March 25th at various periods back through and before Medieval times."

Just saying... *shrugs*

Answer 7

I watched the History channel last night about it and it origanted in Ireland as a small ceremony with witches and pagans and throughout the centuries has developed into what it is today.

Answer 8

Satanic and america for gods sake get real.Samhain is a time when the veil between this world and next is thin and the end of the Wiccan year. Its a time to reveiw the last year, see how we have grown, what we have done. Its a time of death and rebirth and when we can celebrate with family that have died. Nothing evil or satanic, leave that for the chritians who dwell with that side of life.
Samhain is a lot older and not bogged down with bigotry, hope this helps

Answer 9

it's a pagan festival of the dead originating from the celts. it's got nothing to do with christianity but, as many other festivals noe considered christian, was just accepted by christianity to get more pagans to join.

Answer 10

Apparently the Pagan festival is called Samhain.