HALLOWEEN

Halloween is derived from an ancient Celtic festival, Samhain. This was one of the Celts four 'Grand Sabbats' along with

Candlemas, Beltane and Lammas. Samhain, on October 31st, marked the

end of the pagan year and the beginning of winter.

In England, turnips were hollowed out and made into lanterns with faces - intended toscare away any troublemakers from the spirit world. That is why nowadays we do the same with a pumpkin.

It is believed that on that night the barriers between

our world and the spirit world are very weak. Weak enough,

in fact, to allow the souls of the dead

to return to earth in search of the warmth

and light of their old lives.

To avoid this, houses were made dirty and people “decorated” them with bones, skulls and any other unpleasant stuff, so the souls didn’t stop there. Nowadays we have the tradition to decorate with sinister motives our houses in the eve of All Saints’ Day (“All Hallows’ Day”).

People thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people wore masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. That is why our children dress up with costumes.

On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people placed bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter. This is why children ask for sweets when they play “trick or treat”.