Halloween: The Celts And Druids

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HALLOWEEN HISTORY

Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated on the 31st of October. Millions of people around the world celebrate Halloween, incorporating their own beliefs and traditions into the holiday. For some Halloween is seen as a day to celebrate those that have passed from this life, while others see the holiday as a descendant of pagan rituals and beliefs. Regardless of how you celebrate the holiday, the history of Halloween remains the same.

The Celts and Druids
The first trace of Halloween was associated with Samhain. According to Scottish and Irish historical texts, Samhain was a summer end celebration observed annually by the Celtic people. This religious celebration was to honor the end of summer and to provide the spiritual magic needed for the Druids, Celtic priests, to prophesize the future. The Celts were completely dependent on the land and believing in magic was a strong rooted fundamental quality that they shared. They believed that the Druids would be able to foresee the extent of the harsh winter, so that they could better prepare their families. They also believed that Samhain was the day of the year where spirits could come back from the grave and haunt those that had done them ill. …show more content…

The dressing up in costumes was to fool the ghosts into believing that the Celts were similar angry spirits. The Celts would surround the bomb fire and celebrate the end of a successful harvest. The celebrations were very large because there were some that would not see the end of the harsh winters that were coming

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