At the end of October, Halloween is celebrated everywhere. But what is it, what exactly is being celebrated and where does it come from? Many people still believe that Halloween is an American custom. In fact, it is one of the oldest celebrations in the world. This festival was celebrated over 5000 years ago.
Halloween
The custom goes back to pagan, Celtic, Christian and Irish roots and is basically a combination of everything.
The pagan Celts only knew the seasons of summer (from May to October) and winter (from November to April). On October 31st - this day was called "Samhain" - summer time ended for them. On this day, people believed at the time, the worlds of the dead and the living would meet.
It was said that the dead only had the opportunity to live after death on that one day by taking possession of the souls of the living. People placed drinks and food in front of their houses to appease and honor the dead. In order to scare them away, however, they went about the area making loud noises and wearing horrific masks.
From around 800 AD, the Catholic Church used its festival, All Saints Day, which takes place every year on November 1st, to overlay Halloween. The festival of All Saints is intended to commemorate the dead of the months of May to November. The name "All Saints Day" translates as "All Hallow's Eve", which was shortened to "Halloween". It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the Halloween custom reached the United States of America through Irish immigrants. It has been celebrated extensively there ever since.
The Halloween tradition: “Trick or Treat”
On Halloween, children have the opportunity to go door to door to ask other residents in the neighborhood if they want to "trick or treat." While this custom was mainly popular in the USA a few years ago, the joy of Halloween has now spread to Europe as well. "Things to know about celebrating Halloween" read more