History of Halloween

September 7th 2008

History

The modern holiday of Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (Irish pronunciation: [ˈsˠaunʲ]; from the Old Irish samain).[2] The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes [3] regarded as the "Celtic New Year".[4] Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive 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, where the 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.




Home-and-Family:Holidays Articles from EzineArticles.com

Remember Bela Lugosi in His Dracula Costume?
Count Dracula lives in an old, decaying castle deep in the mist shrouded Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. The Count makes himself appear to be a nobleman with an aristocratic background and from all outward appearances that's what he is, but in fact he is a centuries-old vampire...

Kids Halloween Costumes - Yogi Bear Makes The Cutest Costume
Every year there are top ten costumes, the best costume to buy etc and can be overwhelming and yes, gives us too much of a choice, which I know, is a little bit whiny and spoilt, but putting your child in the wrong costume can bring it's own problems. This year though, in November, the once great Yogi Bear is making a triumphant return to the big screen and with it has come some great costumes. Find out more.

add RSS feeds to any website