Maya Garaway Week 7: Halloween Origins

Happy Non-Jewish Purim! For most of my friends and I, Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year. We love seeing all the pumpkins, watching Tim Burton movies, and eating any Halloween-themed food. Sadly, I wasn't able to see one of my close friends this year to do our annual Halloween movie marathon, but it was still a very exciting night. Even though the holiday is over, I still wanted to do a bit of research into the origins of the holiday. 

It started with the pagan Celts throughout Northern Europe. Previously, Halloween was known as Samhain and this holiday marked the change of seasons. The Samhain plays an important part in the pagan calendar because it is between the autumn equinox and winter solstice. This was a significant time of year because it meant the start of the winter challenges and symbolized life and death. Spirituality had a strong connection to this holiday due to its symbolism and proximity to the equinox and solstice. It was believed that ghosts and spirits were able to visit during the Samhain. In the past, many people would give offerings to please these spirits to avoid any conflicts. Some people would dress up in costumes in an attempt to confuse the spirits. It was also believed that fortune-telling was more accurate during Samhain, so it was commonly seen. The Christian church didn't support all of these traditions and beliefs, so they created All Hallows Eve on the day after Samhain. This day supports all of the Christian martyrs and saints. Over time these holidays slowly combined and that is how our modern-day Halloween began. 

Happy Halloween!

https://time.com/5434659/halloween-pagan-origins-in-samhain/

Comments

  1. AnonymousNov 2, 2021, 9:42:00 PM

    Thank you for taking the time to do this research! I love Halloween as well because it just makes you feel spooky, and all of the traditions/festivities are fun. I don't think Halloween is celebrated for any religious reasons anymore and it has become a holiday about fun and candy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNov 3, 2021, 8:45:00 AM

    This is so interesting! I've always wanted to learn about the history of halloween. Thanks for the read!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNov 8, 2021, 9:36:00 PM

    Thanks for sharing the history of Halloween, Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays of the year and I agree with what Ariella said, where it is not so much of a religiously practiced holiday, but a holiday of fun, where there is a little bit of spook and a holiday full of candy for the kids.

    ReplyDelete

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