The Origin of Halloween
What's the origin of this strange festival we call Halloween? Why, in the 21st century, do we carve pumpkins into demonic shapes, buy plastic bats and dress up in all manner of strange costumes? What's it all about?The exact origin of Halloween is uncertain, however it appears to date back in history to old pagan beliefs about the spirit world. In particular Halloween seems to have evolved from the ancient pagan festival of Samhain.
Samhain
The festival of Samhain marked the end of summer - and the beginning of winter - in the Northern hemisphere. The world would soon become dark and cold.The ending of summer was interpreted as the death of the sun god, Lugh. On the last day of October he would pass over into the underworld, leaving the world in the grip of winter for six months until he was reborn in the spring fetival of Beltane (which may be related to our modern Easter).
The death of a god was a major event and was believed to cause a rift in the fabric of the universe between the mortal world and the lands of the dead. Through this rift could come all manners of ghosts, demons and other unpleasant spirits. Much of our Halloween rutuals today represent ways of protecting ourselves against these evil spirits - for example, costumes were initially believed to confuse them as to who was mortal and who not. The ancient pagans didn't have Torchwood to protect them!
Over the centuries many of the details of the Samhain festival have been lost, however the basic principles remain. Samhain was incorporated into the Roman festival of the dead Feralia and later into the Christian All Saints' Day. All Saints' Day is on November 1st and also known as All Hallows Day - hence the day before became known as All Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
Today, of course, Samhain is long behind us and largely forgotten. To most people Halloween is simply an excuse for a great party with spectacular costumes and a few spooky thrills.