The holiday we know as Halloween actually comes from the Celtic
holiday Samhain. Scary costumes were meant to keep away evil spirits.
According to MSN.com:
Halloween started as a Celtic festival of Samhain,
celebrated on October 31, when the Celts believed the dead returned to the
earth. On this day, people gathered to light bonfires, offer sacrifices, and pay homage
to the dead, according to History Channel.
Pumpkins were originally carved to keep away evil spirits. They
were originally carved in turnips or beets. Pumpkins are a new world fruit and
were not known to early Europeans.
-Otto
Other fun facts from MSN.com:
"All Hallow’s Eve" evolved
into "All Hallow’s Even," and by the Eighteenth century it was
commonly referred to as "Hallowe'en,” according to Business Insider. This crazy change up explains
how we eventually came to call the fall holiday Halloween.
Carving jack-o’-lanterns
originated in Ireland, but instead of pumpkins, they carved turnips
and beets. Pumpkin carving is an American tradition.
The trick-or-treating hunt didn’t
always involve candy. In the 1930s and early 1940s, children got
everything from homemade cookies and cake to fruit, nuts, coins,
and toys, according to History Channel. No candy on Halloween? Now that’s
scary.
The name jack-o’-lantern
came from an old Celtic folk tale about Stingy Jack, who would play tricks on
the devil. When Stingy Jack died, the devil gave him a lump of burning coal to
light his way in the darkness. Stingy Jack put this light into a turnip to light his way in purgatory.
Ramones - Pet Sematary
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