A Brief History of Hallowe'en
A Holiday Dating from the Time Before Christianity
Hallowe'en is celebrated on the evening of October 31, the day before All Saints Day. The history of this holiday goes back to the time before Christianity.
Hallowe'en was originally observed by the Celts, who lived in what is now Great Britain and the northern part of France. In addition to worshipping a Sun god, these people also revered Samhain, who was the god of the dead and associated with the long, cold winter months. On October 31, Samhain would call forth those who had died; they would assume the form of an animal.
It was believed that on the night of October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and that of the dead became blurred. The ghosts of the dearly departed walked the Earth, damaging crops and generally causing trouble. The presence of spirits was thought to make it easier for Druid priests to make predictions about the future.
Sacred bonfires were lit and both crops and animals were sacrificed to the gods. Costumes made from animal heads and skins were worn during the celebrations. At the conclusion of the festivities, the people re-lit their hearth fires from the sacred bonfires – a way to help protect them during the long, cold winter.
November 1 was the start of the new year, marking the end of the summer and the harvest and the beginning of the winter, a time associated with death.
Eventually, Christianity spread to the lands inhabited by the Celts. November 1 was designated as All Saints Day by Pope Boniface IV in the seventh century, possibly to replace the earlier celebrations with a Church-sanctioned one.
This new religious holiday was referred to as All-hallows or All-hallowmas and the night before came to be known as All-hallows Eve, which eventually evolved into Hallowe'en.
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