Gre
etings Mortals! Eve Hallows here, and I thought I’d share a little information about Halloween. After all, my ancestors took the celebration as their name long, long ago.
Halloween, or also know as All Hallow’s Eve, hallowe’en, and Samhain, has been practiced since the mid 1700s. It is celebrated in many countries on October 31st, and honors and remembers the dead, including saints, martyrs, family, and friends. This festival has both Christian and Pagan roots. The word Halloween means Hallowed Evening, or Holy Evening.
The wearing of costumes is thought to be derived from the celts and druids, about 2,000 years ago. The celts settled in what is now known as Ireland, England, and parts of northern France. This celebration was to bring in the New Year, which for celts, begins on November 1st. The celts wore animal skins and heads while they watched giant bonfires, and attempted to tell fortunes for the upcoming year.
While the apple is a staple for Halloween, it really didn’t become a popular food or symbol until around 43 A.D. By that time, the Roman Empire had conquered most of the Celtic territory, and began to integrate their own traditions into the former Celtic region. The Romans remembered and honored their deceased ancestors toward the end of October, and they also honored the Goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. Since the symbol of Pomona is an apple, it is certainly easy to see where apple bobbing could have become what is now a Halloween tradition.
Halloween was not prominently celebrated in the early days of America (U.S.A.), as the first settlers were very stern and austere. But as more immigrants came to America, particularly in the southern colonies, they brought their traditions with them, from celebrating the harvest, telling ghost stories, and having parties.
Halloween Decorations at the Dead and Breakfast
Toward the mid to late 1800s, the idea of Halloween was becoming more of a community social event for having parties, and much of the spookiness and talk of the dead and ghosts was minimized. It was about dressing up in costumes, having fun, and exploring the collective Archetypes. According to data from 2012, Halloween has become an $8 billion industry, with over 157 million Americans celebrating. With the outdoor lights and props, indoor decorations, greeting cards, candy, costumes, and music, children and adults are buying into the idea that they can dress up as a Superhero, a Witch, Princess, Vampire, or anything their imagination can conjure.