Halloween or Hallowe'en (/ˌhæləˈwiːn, -oʊˈiːn, ˌhɑːl-/; a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"),[6] also known as Allhalloween,[7] All Hallows' Eve,[8] or All Saints' Eve,[9] is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of theWestern Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It initiates the triduum of Allhallowtide,[10] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.[11] Within Allhallowtide, the traditional focus of All Hallows' Eve revolves around the theme of using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death."[12]
According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals,[2][13] with possiblepagan roots, particularly the Gaelic Samhain.[8][14][15] Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.[2][16]
Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related "guising"), attending costume parties, decorating, carvingpumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular,[17][18][19] although in other locations, these solemn customs are less pronounced in favor of a more commercialized and secularized celebration.[20][21][22] Because many Western Christian denominations encourage, although most no longer require, abstinence from meat on All Hallows' Eve,[23][24] the tradition of eating certain vegetarian foods for this vigil day developed, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes, andsoul cakes.[24][25][26]
History
Gaelic and Welsh influence
Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which have pagan roots, and others which may be rooted in Celtic Christianity.[32][33] Indeed, Jack Santino, a folklorist, writes that "the sacred and the religious are a fundamental context for understanding Halloween in Northern Ireland, but there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived".[34] Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked..... finish reading here.
Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur
