Halloween has become less about literal ghosts and ghouls and more about costumes and candy. Trick or Treat is the cry of kids across the land as they run from door to door looking to fill bags with goodies.
A wee Halloween TREAT to lift your spirits!
Halloween Facts:
- Halloween is the night before the Catholic festival of All Saints and the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain (1st November).
- Halloween is also sometimes called All Hallows’ Eve, All Hallowtide and can also be written Hallowe’en.
- Halloween colours are orange and black. Orange is related to harvests because the end of October is the end of the harvest (the time when fruit and vegetables are collected). Black is related to death.
Straddling the date line between autumn and winter, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. Also known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.
By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honour Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practised today on Halloween.
Happy Halloween!
