Welcome to Gaia! ::

I thought it would be nice to make a topic on Halloween seeing as how there are only about 9 more days I think until it begins.

The Celts believed that souls of the dead visited the earth every October 31.

All Hallows Eve was the evening before All Saints Day which is celebrated on November 1.

In Mexico, they celebrate El Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead starting the evening of October 31.

Halloween also marks the end of harvest season. The end of October marks the time that pastures and fields dry up. The animals were brought in from the pasture to be butchered and the remaining vegetables left in fields and gardens were left to rot. This part of the season often brought about reminisce of loved ones that were lost.

In 1800's people started to have parties. Part of the celebrations included costumes, fortune telling and games such as bobbing for apples.

At the turn of the century, cities were overcrowded and Halloween marked the time to let off steam by playing practical jokes such as turning over out houses. By the 1930's things had gotten out of hand and serious damage was being done on Halloween. There was a movement to have children go door to door and ask for candy as an alternative to vandalism.

Many experts believe the druids were the first to observe Halloween. Dating back to 700 B.C., they celebrated the festival of Samhain (the end of the harvest and a time to honor the dead) on November 1. In the ensuing years, the night before became known as the Eve of All Hallows, a.k.a. Hallow Even, a.k.a. Hallow e'en.

When the Romans conquered much of the Celtic world, they merged Samhain with their own festivals, a harvest festival called Poloma, and a celebration for the dead called Feralia.

When Christianity became the main religion in Europe, 01 November became All Saints Day - a day dedicated to all those saints who didn't have a special day of their own. They performed a mass called Allhallowsmass and night before became All Hallows E'en or Halloween.

Originally, jack o' lanterns were made from hollowed-out turnips. But when Irish immigrants went to America turnips were hard to come by so they started using pumpkins instead. Now pumpkins are starting to replace turnips here.

oh yeah, and turnips would be pretty small jack o lanterns, eh? but they probably worked too.

... seriously? Wow... I wouldn't think sending your kids to a strangers house would be a good idea as an alternative for anything, but it would make sense. That is so bizarre to me... ~blinks~ Where'd you find this out? Or is it just a random fact you had on hand?

I think all culture has a "Halloween" type thing...
Obon is like Halowwen for Japan...

oh yea, I stopped trick or treating at age 7
the last time I ever tricker treating was for UNICEF, where I bugged one of my teachers house

i didn't know about the druids, that's so kewl, with the romans and stuff! i luv ancient roman history so i was AHHHH blaugh heart

Those facts are awesome. Here's a new one:

When christians came to try and convert the celts they tried to incorporate a lot of the 'pagan' festivals and things, because they knew that people would accept God more easily, so thats why haloween is such a jumble.

The 'trick or treat' thing comes from the tradition of asking for soul cakes, beggars would go from door to door and ask for soul cakes, in return for the cake they would pray for the deceased members of the cake-giver's family.

i already knew about the day the dead came back to the earth but i didn't know the rest, and im studying the druids good student i am..

i haven't been trick or treating in years,