The Origins of Halloween

The customs of Halloween come from several different cultures. The
early Celtic people of Great Britain and Northern France, the Romans,
and the early Christians all had festivals that infl uenced the
celebration of Halloween as we know it today.

The Celtic Origins of Halloween

Two thousand years ago in northern Europe, the Celtic people
worshipped nature and had many gods. The Celts celebrated their New
Year on November 1 st . This festival marked the end of their season
of light and the beginning of the season of cold and darkness. On
October 31 st , their New Year's Eve, they gathered together to
honor their god, Samhain, (pronounced sow-en). Samhain was the God of
the Dead. The Celts believed that the spirits of dead people came to
life and wandered around outside at this time of year. The Celtic
people did not want to be hurt by the spirits, so they dressed in
costumes to disguise themselves if they had to go outside.  They also
put candles in their windows to help the spirits find their way and
they left offerings of food outside their homes so the spirits would
treat them kindly. This might explain our modern custom of giving
treats on Halloween .

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The Origins of Halloween

The customs of Halloween come from several different cultures. The
early Celtic people of Great Britain and Northern France, the Romans,
and the early Christians all had festivals that infl uenced the
celebration of Halloween as we know it today.

The Roman and Christian Origins of Halloween

When the Romans invaded Britain, they brought many of their customs
and festivals with them. One of these festivals, Pomona Day, took
place around the end of October and honored Pomona, the Roman Goddess
of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona was the apple, which might
explain the origin of our modern custom of bobbing for apples. After
hundreds of years, the festivals of the Celts and the Romans combined
to form one major fall holiday. With the spread of Christianity, came
new festivals. In the year 835, the Roman Catholic church made a
holiday on November 1 st to honor all the saints. This day was called
All Saints day or All Hallows. Many years later, the church made
November 2 nd All Soul’s Day to honor the dead. People celebrated
by making fires and dressing up as saints, devils and angels. After
many years, the traditions of these holidays and the holidays of the
Celtic people combined and became known as Hallowed Evening and was
celebrated on October 31 st . Eventually the name was shortened to
Halloween

October 31 - Hallowed Evening (Hallow E'en -> Halloween)
November 1 - All Saints' Day (All Hallows)    día de todos los santos
November 2 - All Souls' Day                   día de todas las almas

People were afraid of ghosts
- dressed in costumes to disguise themselves if they had to go outside.
- put candles in their windows to help the spirits find their way
- left food for the spirits outside their homes so the spirits would
  treat them kindly.
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to be as blind as a bat
    to have very poor eye sight

to be as white as a ghost
    to be very pale, to have no color in your face

to look like a skeleton
    to be very thin

a jack of all trades
    a person who has many skills

to mask one's feelings
 to cover or hide one's true feelings

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who believes in ghosts. 

who is afraid of spiders.

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The last man on Earth was sitting in a room alone.

There was a knock on the door !!