Halloween: The Celts And Druids

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.

In order to protect themselves from possession, the Celts built a large bomb fire in the middle of their community and would dress like spirits.

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

up.

Roman Influence
The Roman Empire was one of the most impressive empires in all the world. Its influence is still observed today. The Romans brought along the Christian faith when they invaded the area close to where it is believed the Celts lived. Halloween was quickly adapted to reflect less on the pagan roots of the holiday, but to instead focus on the more wholesome Christian values. The Pope declared that Halloween would be known as All Hallows Eve, followed by All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. The triad of hallows were recognized in the Catholic faith, as days to honour and remember the dead. It was during these days that devout Catholics would spend in remembrance of those that had died for the faith and for the loved ones that had departed this world. An important modern Halloween tradition came from these Catholic observances, souling. Souling was where the young and the poor would offer their prayers in exchange for food. Prayers were important to Christians, because many believed that the soul went to purgatory and the amount of prayers that the soul receives on its behalf would help tip the balanced scales between Heaven and Hell. Souling is believed to be where the idea of treating came from in the classic tradition of trick-or-treating.