Have you ever wondered what is behind Halloween night? Since when is it celebrated? We will tell you about it in this article.
Also known as Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve or All Hallow’s Eve is an increasingly widespread celebration in the Western world , as behind it hides a whole history of more than 3,000 years old.
The children dress up and go out to the streets, decorated with pumpkins, in search of candies, sweets or any kind of sweet with the phrase “trick or treating”, while the joy invades families and groups of friends who want to have a good time. a while.
Where did the Halloween celebration originate from?
The now called Halloween night has its origin in the Celtic world , specifically in the pagan festival known as Samhain, which also symbolized the new year in Celtic culture.
Its origins go back to Ireland more than 3,000 years ago, because, coinciding with the autumn solstice, the peasants celebrated the end of the season under the belief that during that precise night, that of October 31, the spirits walked among the alive.
According to the legends, spirits could cross the line that separates the world of the living from that of the dead , since it was narrowed that night.
What is celebrated on Halloween?
A form of protection to ward off evil spirits was to light bonfires or use masks and disguises to scare them away and avoid being recognized. Also, place bones, skulls or any other object related to death in the houses.
As good spirits could also cross into the world of the living, on the night of October 31 many of the relatives began to organize banquets and candles , which were replaced by illuminated pumpkins, at the graves to facilitate communication with the deceased.
Trick or Treating?
Another of the legends that surround the holiday of Halloween is that of the “trick or treating” , the pumpkin and the spirit of Jack O’Lantern.
On the night of October 31, when spirits roamed among the living, there was one especially terrifying, that of Jack O’Lantern, who went from village to village visiting all the houses after making a pact with the devil.
The deceased would appear in homes asking for “trick or treating” and anyone who refused to make a pact with him would be cursed. To protect themselves, they began to transform the pumpkins into objects of terror that would scare away the spirit of O’Lantern, illuminated within.
Where is Halloween celebrated?
Irish immigrants carried this tradition to the United States and Canada, where it began to be celebrated in the 1920s. Specifically, the first Halloween parade on the American continent took place in 1921 in Minnesota.
Although the Night of the Witches is commemorated mainly in the Anglo-Saxon countries Canada, the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Europe and Latin America have joined the celebration, which is increasingly widespread.