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Ancient Origins of Halloween
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced
sow-in) !he Celts" who lived #"$$$ %ears ago in the area that is now &reland" the nited
ingdom and northern rance" celebrated their new %ear on *ovember + !his da%
marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark" cold winter" a
time of %ear that was often associated with human death Celts believed that on the
night before the new %ear" the boundar% between the worlds of the living and the dead
became blurred On the night of October ,+ the% celebrated Samhain" when it was
believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth &n addition to causing trouble and
damaging crops" Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldl% spirits made it
easier for the ruids" or Celtic priests" to make predictions about the future or a
people entirel% dependent on the volatile natural world" these prophecies were an
important source of comfort and direction during the long" dark winter
!o commemorate the event" ruids built huge sacred bonfires" where the people
gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities uring the
celebration" the Celts wore costumes" t%picall% consisting of animal heads and skins"
and attempted to tell each other's fortunes .hen the celebration was over" the% re-lit
their hearth fires" which the% had e/tinguished earlier that evening" from the sacred
bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter
!he 0egend of 1Sting% 2ack1
3eople have been making 4ack-o'-lanterns at Halloween for centuries !he practice
originated from an &rish m%th about a man nicknamed 1Sting% 2ack1 According to the
stor%" Sting% 2ack invited the evil to have a drink with him !rue to his name" Sting%
2ack didn't want to pa% for his drink" so he convinced the evil to turn himself into a
coin that 2ack could use to bu% their drinks Once the evil did so" 2ack decided to keep
the mone% and put it into his pocket ne/t to a silver cross" which prevented the evil
from changing back into his original form 2ack eventuall% freed the evil" under the
condition that he would not bother 2ack for one %ear and that" should 2ack die" he would
not claim his soul !he ne/t %ear" 2ack again tricked the evil into climbing into a tree
to pick a piece of fruit .hile he was up in the tree" 2ack carved a sign of the cross into
the tree's bark so that the evil could not come down until the evil promised 2ack not
to bother him for ten more %ears
Soon after" 2ack died As the legend goes" 5od would not allow such an unsavor% figure
into heaven !he evil" upset b% the trick 2ack had pla%ed on him and keeping his word
not to claim his soul" would not allow 2ack into hell He sent 2ack off into the dark night
with onl% a burning coal to light his wa% 2ack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and
has been roaming the 6arth with ever since !he &rish began to refer to this ghostl%
figure as 12ack of the 0antern"1 and then" simpl% 12ack O'0antern1
&n &reland and Scotland" people began to make their own versions of 2ack's lanterns b%
carving scar% faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near
doors to frighten awa% Sting% 2ack and other wandering evil spirits &n 6ngland" large
beets are used &mmigrants from these countries brought the 4ack o'lantern tradition with
them when the% came to the nited States !he% soon found that pumpkins" a fruit
native to America" make perfect 4ack-o'-lanterns
ascinating acts about Hallowe'en
Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in the world" dating back over #$$$ %ears to
the time of the Celts who lived in 7ritain
Halloween is also knownb% other names8
All Hallows 6ve
Samhain
All Hallowtide
!he east of the ead
!he a% of the ead
Halloween in .elsh is '*os Calan 5aeaf'
Halloween is correctl% spelt as Hallowe9en
.hen Christianit% came to 6ngland and the rest of 6urope" + *ovember became All
Saints a% - a da% dedicated to all those saints who didn't have a special da% of their
own !he% performed a mass called 'All hallows mass' and the night before became
known as All Hallows 6'en and eventuall% Hallowe9en or Halloween
.hen the :omans con;uered 6ngland" the% merged Samhain with their own festivals" a
harvest festival called 3oloma" and a celebration for the dead called eralia
&n <e/ico" the% celebrate 6l ia de los <uertos or the a% of the ead starting the
evening of October ,+
&t is thought that the colours orange and black became Halloween colours because
orange is associated with harvests (Halloween marks the end of harvest) and black is
associated with death
7lack cats were originall% believed to protect witches' powers from negative forces
A pumpkin is reall% a s;uash" and comes from the same famil% as the cucumber
About ==> of pumpkins sold are used as 2ack O' 0anterns at Halloween
!he biggest pumpkin in the world tipped the scales at a whopping +"??@ pounds !his
gigantic gourd was weighed in October #$$? at a pumpkin festival in 3ort 6lgin"
Ontario" Canada
!he record for the fastest pumpkin carver in the world is 2err% A%ers of 7altimore"
Ohio He carved a pumpkin in 4ust , secondsB
!he ver% first 4ack o' lantern was made out of hollowed out turnips
:inging a bell scares evil spirits awa%
&f %ou see a spider on this night" it could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is
watching %ou
!o meet a witch" put %our clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween
night
!op !ips for Halloween
&f %our pumpkin lantern shrivels up" %ou can restore it b% soaking it overnight in water
to re h%drate it