Two more days separate us from October 31st, Halloween, when every American dresses up in a ‘scary’ costume, every female celebrity in a ‘sexy’ costume, and every kid goes trick or treating.
But how did we get here you will ask. Why do we celebrate Halloween in fact?
Well gather round my friends and let me tell you a tale.
It all started with the pagan Celts, who lived in the north of England. They celebrated their New Year on the 31st of October, a time which coincided with their last day of harvest, a time when working would end and getting ready for winter would start. A magical time if you will, when they thought about life and dead.
For this reason, they lit bonfires to send the dead back to the spirit world and rang in the new year.
But when the Catholic Church greatened it’s influence over Europe, they were not keen on seeing these pagan rituals and so decided to combine the October 31st feast with a November 1st day where people would remember the saints, all saints day.
And so both holidays, October 31st for the pagans and all saints day for the Catholics had to do with the dead and the afterlife, hence the scary costumes.
The Catholics soon took over October 31st as well and made it theirs, as they called their November 1st feast Hallowmas or mass of the saints, whilst All Hallow’s eve (now known as Halloween) would then be the evening before Hallowmas, or Halloween.
Afterwards, when the Irish immigrated to the US due to the potato famine of the 1800s, they brought their traditions with them, and so Halloween had its entry into the US.
So my friend, if you want to impress a girl on Halloween evening not with a compliment but with some wisdom, tell her this story.
Booh.
Source:
Halloween had its entry into the US