where was halloween invented?

Question

where was halloween invented?

Answer 1

The ancient Celts practiced the turn of the year with a holiday called Samhain. Christians adopted it and called it All Hallows Even in around the 5th century .

Answer 2

WARNING!! Halloween is an evil holiday in which people try to cover up by handing out candy to little kids, but many teenagers go around destroying things, and many cults and witchcraft celebrate this day, so this day should not be supported in any way whatsoever, Halloween should be removed from people's calendars and condemned! Friends of Satan do not need to be assisted by recognizing their holiday! It is EVIL! Don't be a friend of Satan!

Answer 3

The Celts (pronounced kelts) called it "Samhain" (pronounced 'sow-win) during the times of the Druids in what we know today as the UK and surounding areas. Samhain was held for SEVERAL purposes in a lot of different ways. To most it was a harvest celebration. Some considered it at time when their God was going to die (just to be reborn in the following Spring) signaling the start of Winter and the impending following Spring which was their New Year. (THEY used the Phases of the Moon and the Seasons as THEIR markers of time. Today WE use a calendar.) They also considered it a time where the Vail between the Physical World and the Spirit World was the thinnest because of the shortening of daylight hours. For this reason they held certain rituals to ward off evil spirits and protect themselves from these evil spirits. They also held certain rituals to remember and honor their dead relatives and ancestors. Some of these rituals are where today's society get Jack-O'Lanterns, which were ORIGINALLY carved from turnips and used like we use flashlights today. They did NOT originally carve the faces in them. That came later to help them ward off evil spirits. They wore scarey costumes to help ward off evil spirits, too. Trick-or-treating came from the part where they honored their own ancestors by leaving out offerings to them, possibly, enticing them to visit and enjoy their brief visit to the Physical World where they could communicate.

Halloween has NOTHING to do with the Devil. It wasn't until the Dark Ages that "Christian" Kings (ESPECIALLY King James of England) said that to their people to scare them into obeying their own orders.


Read up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain

Get even MORE info here:

http://www.new-life.net/halowen1.htm.......

http://www.history.com/minisite.do?conte...

http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm....

http://www.samhain.com/

http://www.mythinglinks.org/samhain.html...

http://www.celticspirit.org/samhain.htm....

I've provided links because there's not enough room here to fully explain it as I would like. You can find out even more by using your search engine(s) and typing in " Halloween " and " Samhain ".

Answer 4

HALLOWE'EN
Category: Religion and Philosophy


Everyone has different thoughts on the holiday of Halloween, most people either do or don't celebrate it. Of course, the majority of us have heard the saying that it's the devil's birthday, etc. But what really is Halloween? (Here's a possibility)



Samhain is October 31st, it literally means "End of Summer" and is the last harvest. In Wiccan beliefs this is the start of a new years, thus it has been said to be the Witch New Year.



Symbolism of Samhain:
Third Harvest, the Dark Mysteries, Rebirth through Death.

Symbols of Samhain:
Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms (Brooms).

Herbs of Samhain:
Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Oak leaves, Sage and Straw.

Foods of Samhain:
Turnips, Apples, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Beef, Pork, Poultry.

Incense of Samhain:
Heliotrope, Mint, Nutmeg.

Colors of Samhain:
Black, Orange, White, Silver, Gold.

Stones of Samhain:
All Black Stones, preferably jet or obsidian



Samhain originated in Ireland as a harvest festival-immigrants brought versions of the festivals to the United States.



So where'd Halloween come in at and how come some people call it All Saints Day?

The old spelling for Halloween is Hallowe'en. They use to call it All Hallow Even which was shortened to All Hallow Eve and so worth until All Saints Day. In Christian (catholic) it is said that All Souls Day is celebrated to those in temporarily in Purgatory.



In Eastern Christianity the traditions were practiced on the first Sunday following the Pentacost. A celebration of the re-birth of death.



The symbols broken down and some of the many variations

The black cat: cats are believed to be able to sense the presence of spirits before humans take notice. The black ones are especially selected because of there increased ability to see at night or in dark places, NOT because of being evil contrary to popular belief. Although, some may say that witches have the ability to take the form of a cat nine times, thus it has nine lives-there was a goddess, Diana, which attempted more and her soul was trapped into the body of the black cat and so witches made the cat there sacred animal to avoid killing her. Wiccans are said to have great respect for animals.



Apples: in Celtic beliefs apples are associated with love and fertility. At large gatherings bobbing for them is usually done to see who would be the next to marry, it is a very similar tradition to "tossing the bouquet." Additionally, in old traditions of other countries apples were buried along the streets from cemeteries leading home so that a lost soul could find it's way.



The Jack O'Lantern: There's an old tell of this guy named Jack, an Irishman, who'd tricked the devil into a trap and refused to free him until he promised that he would not accept him into Hell. Thinking he was guaranteed entry into Heaven, when Jack died he was up for a surprise. He found out that he was too bad to get into heaven and the devil wouldn't allow him into hell because of the promise. When he began looking for a place to rest, he created a jack o'lantern. Some variations say that the devil refused him entry into hell because he was shamed that he'd been tricked or that Jack would take over.



The Broom stick: There are several different reasons it is believed brooms are used by witches. One reason is that they would disguise there wands, etc as brooms to avoid others knowing who they were. Some believe that it was a purification device used to keep the ritual area pure. And some believe that witches ride brooms as a spell to give the dead life, the reference was taken from its relationship to a man's penis.



The Traditions and some variations

In Scotland the kids go "guishing" an act in which they go door to door providing entertainment in exchange for gifts with a song of "The sky is blue, the grass is green, may we have our Halloween". This is similar to the US tradition of Trick or Treating. I would assume that it is where the interesting chants such as "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat, if you don't-I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear."

In today's society the tricks aren't as common as in the past.



In North America, unmarried women were frequently told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before they married, a skull would appear.



In Somerset, England the last Thursday in October children carry Jack O'lanterns around the villages collecting money and singing the punkie song.





Where to Celebrate

In the United States, it was in the past that Salem, Massachusetts was a popular destination for Halloween'ers, however, with the dark history of the Witch Trials-many journeyed to Anoka, Minnesota which has become the "HALLOWEEN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD." They are known for this because they hosted the first Halloween parade back in 1920. www.anokahalloween.com



Although, Anoka is the capital for Halloween, NYC hosts the largest celebration Village Halloween Parade.



This is just a little touch on such a deep subject. Of course, everyone has different views and some choose to either look in greater detail or go along with what they've always believed.

Answer 5

way back when people used to dress up to scare demons away. the people would trick the demons into thinking that they were aslo demons. so the demons would treat them to what ever goods they had. thus the phrase trick or treat.

Answer 6

im pretty sure it was made after the salem witch trials in massachusetts, when people believed that monsters would haunt them. for cover up, they made costumes themselves either to blend in with monsters or to scare them off, i cant remember which.

Answer 7

Europe somewhere I think.

Answer 8

pagan festival originally called hasowen

Answer 9

In the US I think, my dad says it's a money racket. lol :D

Answer 10

in mexico. over there it was called Dia de los Muertos.