Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween, before you go out to the Halloween parade in NYC

Halloween parade

let us understand why we celebrate this day.

History of Halloween:

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain from the Old Irish samain.

The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimesĀ  regarded as the “Celtic New Year”.

Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the earthly boundĀ  and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops.

The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which 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.

Halloween (whats in the name)

The term Halloween is shortened from All Hallows’ Even. Halloween” gets its “n” from “even”) as it is the eve of “All Hallows’ Day, which is now also known as All Saints’ Day

why the costume:

the present-day Halloween custom of wearing costumes and going trick-or-treating has its place in history. the medieval practices of “mumming” and “going a-souling” on the eves of All Saints and All Souls Days November 1 and 2. Mumming took the form of wearing costumes, singing, play-acting, and mischief making, while souling entailed going door to door and offering prayers for the dead in exchange for treats, particularly “soul cakes.”

V for Halloween:

British custom, dating from the 1600s, of youths wearing masks and carrying effigies while begging for pennies on Bonfire Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Night), the November 5 commemoration of the so-called Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament in 1605.

Trick or Treat:

the mordern day invention of Halloween started around 1940s and remains so to this very day. adults and children alike dress in outlandish outfits and enjoy this true pagan hoilday!

Happy Halloween

From
Alternative Mindz