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History of Halloween

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How Halloween came to be.

Let’s discuss the history of Halloween.

The Celtic festival of Samhain (sow-in) in the UK, Ireland and northern France celebrated the new year on November 1-worlds between living and dead were thought to be blurred, with ghosts returning to earth on October 31.  Celtic priests, Druids, built sacred bonfires and Celts wore costumes so that the roaming ghosts could not recognize them.

history-of-halloween
How Halloween came to be.

The Romans, who conquered most of the Celtic territory by 43 A.D., combined two of their festivals with with Samhain.  With Feralia, in late October, the Romans honored the dead.  The festival for Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, was symbolized by an apple (perhaps the origin of our bobbing for apples).

Pope Gregory III in the mid 700’s expanded All Martyrs Day to include all saints as well as martyrs and moved the observance from Pope Boniface’s original May 13 date (609 A.D.) to November 1.  In 1000 A.D., November 2 was made All Souls Day, perhaps to replace the Celtic holiday.  The celebration was also called All-hallowsmas (from Middle English for All Saints Day) and the night before, the old Samhain, came to be called All-hallows Eve…eventually, Halloween.

In America, Halloween was originally celebrated in the south.  The harvest was celebrated with neighbors; stories of the dead were shared; and dancing, singing and mischief were common.  After large waves of immigration in the mid-1800’s, especially with the Irish, the celebration spread to the north; people dressed in costumes and began going door-to-door asking for food or money.  

By the 1920’s or so, the celebration became secular and mischief was discouraged by providing neighborhood children with treats; treats also originated with the English custom of giving poorer citizens pastries called “soul cakes” during All-Hallows Day festivities in exchange for their praying for the dead of the givers and that is the history of Halloween.

Related links: Witches Hat and Broomstick Halloween Recipes

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About the Author: Yvonne Wonder

As the founder and managing director of Destination Sitters, LLC, an entrepreneur for over 35 years, 17 years of which has been in childcare relating to the travel sector. I am the mother of two children, I strongly believe that family comes first. Especially when traveling away from home, there is nothing like the peace of mind that comes from getting great professional childcare to care for your children while on vacation. We refer fully vetted and trusted sitters at your travel destination – we come directly to your hotel, vacation rental, Airbnb or event venue! Through the development and growth of Destination Sitters, LLC a national babysitting service brand for traveling parents we currently provide babysitting services in 20 US cities. We service more than 5k hotels nationally, wedding & event planners, and DMC’s from to coast coasts. Whether you are traveling for leisure, business, or a wedding, this time you can bring your kids – your children will be looked after in the safety of your hotel room.

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