Like many holidays celebrated now, Halloween is rooted in celebrations related to the season and the harvesting of crops. Also like many holidays celebrated in Western cultures today, it is a conglomeration of a pagan (Celtic in this case) holiday and a Christian holiday.

Samhain

Pronunciation

Samhain is an ancient Celtic holiday celebrating the end of the harvest season and the most important fire festival. During the end of the harvest into the beginning of winter, the veil between the living and the dead is said to be the thinnest it will be for the year. This leads to activities that are designed to help guide the souls and also ways to protect from evil ones.

Some things that might be familiar:

• Carving root vegetables, then pumpkins when Celtic immigrants came to the US after the Great Famine

• Bonfires

• Divination

• Dressing up as animals or monsters so that fairies weren't tempted to kidnap them

• Leaving food offerings for souls

• Some would dress up as demons and go to houses and ask for food

• Fairies and witches were part of several myths

• Mumming: dressing up, going door to door and singing, then receiving cakes as payment

• Apples were associated with the holiday and in games - but because they were associated with fertility and Samhain was also associated with love for a while!

All Hallows Eve/Halloween

When Christianity became more popular, the evening before All Saints' Day began to meld with the ancient Celtic holiday. All Saints' Day is as expected: a feast to celebrate all of the Christian saints, well-known and unknown alike. It's celebrated November 1 and then All Souls Day, a day of remembrance for the faithful departed and the souls in purgatory.

The holiday is commemorated by prayers, visiting graveyards, leaving flowers on graves, lighting candles, leaving offerings, and sometimes giving small treats to children going door to door. When Christianity became popular in Celtic lands, the traditions of both combined and then were altered further once large populations of Celtic immigrants reached the US.

What's your favorite Halloween activity? Leave your answer in the comments below! Mine is lighting a bonfire - as long as it's cool outside!

See something that made you laugh or smile recently? Send it to me with my Google form and I may use it in future posts and give you a shoutout!