History of Halloween

Posted by Magnetic Blue
October 31, 2007

History of Halloween
via kerrygoldhalloween.co.uk

The modern holiday of Halloween has its origins in the ancient Gaelic festival known as Samhain.
Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture.
Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores.
The Ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.
The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown.
Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.
The term Halloween is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the eve of “All Hallows’ Day”, also which is now known as All Saints’ Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints’ Day from May 13 to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunrise, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints’ Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day.
Halloween is very popular in Ireland and known as Hallow E’en.
Halloween did not become a holiday in the United States until the 19th century.
The transatlantic migration of nearly two million Irish following the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1849) finally brought the holiday to the United States.
The commercialization of Halloween in the United States did not start until the 20th century, beginning perhaps with Halloween postcards which were most popular between 1905 and 1915. Mass-produced Halloween costumes did not appear in stores until the 1930s, and trick-or-treating did not become a fixture of the holiday until the 1950s.
In the United States, Halloween has become the sixth most profitable holiday.
Halloween is now the United States’ second most popular holiday.
Source: Wikipedia

Trick or Treat Origin

The Celts tried to appease the evil spirits: ghosts, goblins, and demons. Huge “Samhain” bonfires were built to light the way for all the spirits to find their way in to the world of the living. They would leave out food, hoping that this would please the spirit world. If they did not leave a thing, then hence, the spirits would play evil “tricks” on the living in that house. The Druids required human sacrifices, they would go door to door asking for the virgin daughters. If this was not obtained at the chosen homes, then a hexagram was painted on the door in blood to show the appointed evil spirits to cause all kinds of evil to fall on the home. In some cases, even resulted in death.
Quoted from rumela.com