Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic
festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who 2,000 years ago
inhabited the area comprising what 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 season and the beginning of the
dark, cold winter-a time of year that was often associated with human
death. Celts believed that on the eve of 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 these celestial
spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make
predictions about the future. For people who were 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 43 AD, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the
course of the four hundred years when 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 800 AD, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands.
In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as "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 derived from
the word Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day, and the night before it,
the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and,
eventually, Halloween.
