how did holloween start? what is the real significance?

Answer 1

Halloween was popularized by Americans, however the holiday did not begin here. It began as "Samhain" (pronounced sow-in..."sow" as in "cow"), a Celtic festival that began about 2000 or so years ago and was celebrated in the UK, Ireland, and northern France. November 1st marked the new year for the Celts, so October 31st was the day they believed ghosts and such would come on earth. And yes, there were even costumes. 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. Once Christianity began to influence the Celts, Pope Boniface IV declared November 1 "All Saints Day"...and many believe it was done in order to cover up the pagan holiday which fell the day before. That's actually not unusual, the same is true for Christmas (since historically Jesus would not have been born until around April) as well as Easter. Many of the Christian holidays are dated to "cover up" a pagan holiday. Anyway, the night of Samhain began to be called "All Hallows Eve", which eventually became "Halloween."

Answer 2

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 3

Halloween is actually tied to a much older holiday, or celebration, of the harvest. Corn cob dolls were given out and represented fertility. Like many mammals who get "randy" in autumn, the need for procreation was noted by humans. A birth could be expected in late spring, after the cold months, by both man and the animals that they lived with.

Answer 4

Originally, the Celts celebrated Samhain (pronounced sow-IN), which means "November." It was a celebration of the Harvest and of the thinning of the veil between the world of the living and of the dead. It was believed that it became so thin on this night, that the souls that had past the last year could come back and walk in the world of the living.

People would have a "dumb dinner" (dumb as in "unable to speak"), which was served backwards (dessert first, appetizers last), and in silence. There would be an extra place setting and a chair left empty to invite a spirit guest to join them. Vegetables (commonly turnips) were carved into lanterns, lit with consecrated candles, and placed in windows to guide friendly spirits to their homes.

Treats and leftovers from the harvests were left on doorsteps or buried for passing spirits, which is one tradition that fed the practice of Trick or Treating.

Bonfires were lit to appease the gods who were thought to control the patterns of the sun, and were asked to ensure the returning of longer days after winter was over.

Romans also had traditions of their own at this time of year, and honored Pomona, the goddess of fruits and harvest. From them, we were given the tradition of bobbing for apples.

Later, when the Catholic Church started to rival Pagan religions in popularity, they created Halloween, by taking commonly practiced Pagan traditions and tweaking them a bit for themselves. Church members would go door to door begging for "soul cakes," which in return for these treats, they would promise to pray for dead loved ones of the household to ensure that they would reach Heaven.

Over time, traditions have changed more and more, including the abandonment of Halloween by adults, making it widely accepted as a children's holiday.

Answer 5

Ancient Pagan holiday in which people dressed up to scare away the evil spirits, carried lit candles (in gourds to keep the wind from blowing them out) and went door to door collecting wood from neighbors as a form of bonding before winter.

Answer 6

All Hallows Eve, or All Souls Day. The pagans believed on this night the souls of their dead relatives walked and so they dressed in costumes so they wouldn't be recognized. The whole thing started from there.

Answer 7

halloween was actually believed to be the end of the harvest time and the starting of a new harvest period. it was believed that at the night of october 31st spirits would rise form the dead and try to ruin the new harvest season. thus people started keeping treats outside their houses to keep the evil spirits away, or they would trick them into leaving. thus comes the saying trick or treat

Answer 8

Here's what the History Channel has to say:

http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/viewPage?pageId=713

I've noticed this question has been asked about 6 times today...

Answer 9

First, learn to spell.
Second, learn to use the goddam search box, or at least pay attention when Yahoo! says "We have found similar questions"

This question has been asked like once every two hours for the last week.

Answer 10

Halloween. The Encyclopedia Americana says: "Elements of the customs connected with Halloween can be traced to a Druid [ancient Celtic priesthood] ceremony in pre-Christian times. The Celts had festivals for two major gods-a sun god and a god of the dead . . . , whose festival was held on November 1, the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The festival of the dead was gradually incorporated into Christian ritual."

Halloween has also been called All Hallows' Eve, the eve of All Saints' Day. This supposedly Christian name, however, hides origins that are far from hallowed. In fact, scholars say that Halloween's roots go back to a time long before Christianity-the era when the ancient Celts inhabited Britain and Ireland. Using a lunar calendar, the Celts divided the year into two seasons-the dark winter months and the light summer months. On the full moon nearest November 1, the Celts celebrated the festival of Samhain, meaning "Summer's End."

This festival, which marked the beginning of the Celtic new year, came at the end of summer, when the harvest had been gathered and the flocks and herds had been brought down from pasture into shelter. The Celts believed that as the days shortened, it was necessary to reinvigorate the sun through various rites and sacrifices. In symbolism of the dying old year, all fires were put out, and the new year was inaugurated with sacred bonfires from which all members of the community rekindled their hearths. These bonfires-an echo of which can be found today in Britain on Guy Fawkes Night and in Brazil in the June festivals-were also thought to frighten away evil spirits.

It was believed that on the festival of Samhain, the veil between the human and the supernatural worlds was parted and spirits, both good and evil, roamed the earth. The souls of the dead were thought to return to their homes, and families would put out food and drink for their ghostly visitors in hopes of appeasing them and warding off misfortune. Thus, today when children dressed as ghosts or witches go from house to house demanding a Halloween treat or threatening a mischievous trick, they unwittingly perpetuate the ancient rituals of Samhain. Jean Markale comments in his book Halloween, histoire et traditions (Halloween-History and Traditions): "In receiving something in their hands, they establish, on a symbolic level that they do not understand, a brotherly exchange between the visible and the invisible worlds. That is why the Halloween masquerades . . . are in fact sacred ceremonies."

Since people believed that the barriers between the physical and supernatural realms were down, they thought that humans were able to cross over into the spirit world with ease. Samhain was therefore a particularly auspicious time to unlock the secrets of the future. Apples or hazelnuts, both viewed as products of sacred trees, were used to divine information concerning marriage, sickness, and death. For example, apples with identifying marks were placed in a tub of water. By seizing an apple using only the mouth, a young man or woman was supposed to be able to identify his or her future spouse. This divination practice survives today in the Halloween game of bobbing for apples.

Samhain was also characterized by drunken revelry and a casting aside of inhibitions. "Traditional values, if not flouted, were reversed," states Markale. "What was forbidden was allowed, and what was allowed was forbidden." Halloween still reflects this spirit today, which no doubt accounts to a great extent for its increasing popularity. Commenting on this, The Encyclopedia of Religion describes Halloween nowadays as "a time when adults can also cross cultural boundaries and shed their identities by indulging in an uninhibited evening of frivolity. Thus, the basic Celtic quality of the festival as an evening of annual escape from normal realities and expectations has remained into the twentieth century."

Halloween is a major satanic ritual day. "It's a religious holiday for the underworld, with satanists performing sacrifices and witches quietly celebrating with prayer circles or meals for the dead," according to a USA Today article. It quoted Washington witch Bryan Jordan as saying, "[Christians] don't realize it, but they're celebrating our holiday with us. . . . We like it."

Parents, do you want your children imitating these sinister rituals?

Surely Jehovah's Witnesses abstain from Halloween, how about yours?