Halloween is a holiday derived from ancient festivals of the dead. Today it is a day dedicated to fun. It is celebrated on October 31, the evening before All Saints Day, November 1.

Traditionally on this day children will dress up in custumes and visit each house in the neighborhood. At the front door they will yell "Trick or Treat!" They will then be given a treat, usually a piece of candy. The children will save all their candy in a trick or treat bag. Some communities host Halloween costume parties for the trick-or-treaters. Many schools will have Halloween Parties or activities on this day. Halloween is also the time when adults attend costume parties, or wear costumes to work.

Orange and black are the colors associated with Halloween. Houses are usually decorated with scary things: Monsters, Ghosts, Witches, Vampires, Skeletons, Bats, Black Cats, and Spiders are typical decorations.

Jack-o´-lanterns, a hallowed out pumpkin with a face carved on it and lit by a candle, are very popular on Halloween. The name Jack-o´-lantern comes from an old Irish legend. Jack was a sneaky, miserly old man. When he died, he was not welcome in heaven because he was so miserly. Neither was he allowed into Hell, because he had played so many tricks on the devil. Jack was condemned to walk the earth with a lantern made from a pumpkin until judgement day.

Modern Halloween has its roots in the Ancient Celtic Festival of Sanhaim, the Lord of Death. It was held on the evening before the Celtic New Year, November 1. The Celts believed on New Year's Eve, the Lord Sanhaim allows the souls of the dead to walk the earth. If you dressed up in costumes to look like the dead, the spirits would bypass you and not make any trouble. During Festival of Sanhaim, Druid priests would build a large community bonfire to ward off evil spirits. The fire was made from sacred oak branches. Each family would light their hearth from the sacred bonfire. This would provide a blessing for the coming year.

In the first century AD, the Romans conquered the Celts in England. They combined the ancient Celtic holiday with two Roman harvest festivals held about the same time: the Festival of Feralia, god of death, and the Festival of Pomona, god of fruits and trees.

During the 800's the Christian church established November 1 as All Saints' Day. The Mass that was said on this day was called Allhallowsmas. The evening before All Saint's' Day became known as Allhallow Eve. Many of the pagan customs from Celtic and Roman times continued to be practiced on Allhallow Eve. Over time, the name of the holiday was shortened to Halloween, and the remnants of the original pagan celebrations evolved into our modern Halloween celebration.

Note: This holiday is one of Calendar Mine's over 500 built-in observances.

See Also

Holiday Catalogue

American (USA) Observances