Halloween is one of those old holidays that have come down to our times and have not lost their colorful and popular love. Did you know that the tradition of celebrating Halloween has been going on since ancient times, when people worshiped pagan gods? The pagans endowed every natural phenomenon with their deity, which was accompanied not only by worship, but also by sacrifices. So the prototype of Halloween was the Samhain holiday, rooted in Celtic culture.
The day of Halloween celebration falls on October 31, which, according to the Celtic calendar, marks the end of the summer. The activities of the Halloween holiday, in continuation of the Celtic traditions, are aimed at indulging God of fertility and honoring the God of death, who is called Samhain.
Traditions
In ancient Celts, the main rite was sacrifice. People were forced to take to the forest the best representatives of livestock, birds, carry fruits and even cooked food. This they wanted to get protection from otherworldly higher powers. On the other hand, since part of the feast was the God of death, it was believed that a man on the night of the first of November could learn his future. For this, a fire was lit at midnight and each of those present put a chestnut or a small stone near the fire. If by morning someone's stone or chestnut disappeared, during the year one should have expected the death of this unfortunate person.
Sinister costumes also appeared due to the tradition of celebrating Halloween with ancient Celts. After all, ancient people believed that on that day the souls of the dead come to them. But since they were afraid that, in addition to good aliens from a different world, evil ghosts, witches and sorcerers would also come to them, dressing themselves in animal skins and soiling their faces with soot. It was assumed that this kind of man can scare away all evil spirits.
Candles originated from a ritual Celtic fire. Previously, the onset of winter was associated with the onset of prolonged darkness and death. And therefore the priests kindled a huge bonfire, and every simple Celtic took a ray and carried it to his house, so that she could survive the evil winter.
Other customs associated with Halloween
The festival is accompanied by a divination of love. For example, a couple should throw two nuts into the fire and watch them for a while. If the nuts are burned slowly and without much cod, the gods bless them for a long life together. Well, and if there was a strong crack, the wedding was postponed until next year.
Since the holiday is more associated with fertility, they often guess on apples. For example, if a girl eats an apple at night, then in the surface of the water or a mirror she will be able to see the features of her narrowed. And if the ghost was imagining a ghost, it was believed that she had a curse on her, and she needed to spend several days in the forest, so that the good druids saved her from spoiling. But the most cheerful tradition is the custom to ask for a holiday of sweetness.
In England, the traditions of the old Celtic festival in the form of the Halloween festival gained special prominence in the ninth century, when Catholicism spread its wings wide across the country. Since then, October 31 is considered the Day of Remembrance of the Dead, when everyone is obliged to feed the beggar, who knocked on the door of their house. That's when the tradition "Help, or you'll regret it", when gifted children with sweets and other sweets, appeared.
And where is the pumpkin? It arose from the legend of Jack, who deceived the Devil himself. It seems like Jack turned his head into a turnip with smoldering lights instead of eyes. True, during the celebration of Halloween, which has spread in different countries, today put on the windowsill the face-lamp is no longer a turnip but a pumpkin.