The origins of Halloween

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By Sara Piergiovanni

THE ORIGINS OF halloween

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HALLOWEEN TODAY

Nowadays we celebrat Halloween on October 31st, at nigth. During this celebration children and teenagers wear skeleton, witch, ghost and moster costumes for parties and "trick or treating"

TRICK OR TREAT ?

"trick or treat ?"

At Halloween's night, children and teenagers visit their neighbours houses and when the door opens, they say: "trick or treat ?" and people usually give them sweets or money.

"Its origins"

THE ORIGINS OF trick or treating

This custom originated in the 9th century in Ireland, where on November 2nd (all Souls Day) Christians used to walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes", made of bread with currants. The more "soul cakes" the beggars received, the more prayers they promised to say for dead relatives.

The most popular symble of Halloween is a carved pumpkin, also called Jack O' Lantern. The costom of buying a big pumpkin and making a lantern comes from Irish floklore. Irish people put lit, hollowed-out turnips in front of their windows and in their garden to frighten evil spirits away. When Irish immigrans moved to the U.S., they began carving Jack O' Lanterns from pumpkins, as these were native to the region.

Jack o' lanterns

How was born Halloween ?

a STEP BACK...

The festivity has Celtic origins: in the 5th century BC, the Celts believed that summer ended on October 31st. The holiday was called Samhain and celebrated the start of winter and of the new year. The Celts believed that ghosts and witches returned on that night and that evil spirits entered the body of a person or animal. This is why they used to wear frightening costumes and make big fires to send the spirits away.

"The Celtes"

"Christians"

Later, Christian practices replaced pagan ones; the Roman Catholic Church decided to call November 1st "All Hollows Day" or "All Saints Day" and the evening of October 31st became "All Hollows Eve"; that is Halloween.

halloween spread

In the 19th century, following the great migration of Irish people to the U.S., Halloween celebrations spread to the new continent and than in the whole word and they took the form we all know today.

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By Sara Piergiovanni