
So, that’s why we light bonfires, carry jack-o’-lanterns, and go trick or treating on Halloween! The glowing embers would be transported in hollowed-out turnips or gourds, and folk would paint their faces with scary images to frighten away unwelcome spirits that might be encountered in the darkness. When the party was over, revelers would take lucky embers from the great fire home to their own grates to bring them good fortune during the coming year. People gladly handed over offerings for fear that if they didn’t, they would fall victim to mischievous sprites on Samhain night, or bring bad luck down on the household for the whole of the following year. As part of the preparations, youngsters would be sent from door-to-door asking for items of food to be used as gifts to appease the Gods and to ask for firewood to fuel the bonfire. Huge Samhain bonfires would be built on high ground, and a great feast was held to celebrate the festival. These were then lit with candles and placed outside people’s doors as a deterrent to spirits with mischief in mind. Jack-o’-lanterns And Trick Or TreatĪs an additional precaution, pumpkins and turnips were hollowed out and carved to resemble protective spirits.

Venturing out after dark was not recommended, and travelers disguised themselves as ghosts or mythical creatures in an attempt to fool the trouble-making sprites into leaving them alone. Unfortunately, the powerful magic at work also meant that the fairy folk and other elementals that had crossed the veil would run amok on the earth making mischief and taunting unsuspecting humans. So as not to cause alarm, their souls would take the form of familiar, friendly animals, often black cats hence the association between those creatures and Halloween night. Departed friends and relatives would often return as they journeyed to the “Summerlands”. The veil between the world of the living and that of the dead was magically at its thinnest, allowing easy communication between the two. Traditionally celebrated on October 31st, Halloween was originally intended as a festival to honor the dead, and acknowledge the Celtic year’s end.Ĭelebrants believed that on this night the laws of time and space were suspended. Halloween, or Samhain to give it its proper name, was an ancient Celtic fire festival whose name literally means, “End of summer”. 37 Adorable Goldendoodle Halloween Costumesįor many people, Halloween night conjures up images of cackling crones flying on broomsticks, ghouls and ghosts roaming haunted graveyards, and crowds of over-excited children in fancy dress costumes going out trick or treating.īut whose idea was Halloween and where did its traditions come from? An Ancient Festival.
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