Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered,
weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of
forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there
came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my
chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at
my chamber door;
Only this.....
and nothing more......."
The Raven by
Edgar Allen Poe
HISTORY
Halloween originated from a race of people called the
Celts. (800 b.c.- 355 a.d.) who lived in Europe from
North of the Alps to the Baltic Sea. The Celts believed
that every year on the last day of October, the souls of
the dead visited the earth. They celebrated a festival
called Samhain, (pron. Sew-ain or Shah-vin in Gaelic),
the Celtic New Year. Hearth fires were extinguished at
the close of the harvest and relit from a central
hilltop bonfire by druids, priests of the Celts.
The Romans conquered the Celts and Christian scribes
wrote down their folklore. These stories contained
supernatural creatures. The human and spirit worlds
were said to merge on Samhain. People disguised
themselves as ghosts and goblins to protect themselves
from evil. Food was an offering of respect for the dead
who where thought to return home. These traditions
continue today.
Around the eigth century, the Christian church made
November 1 All Saints' Day to honor all of the saints
that didn't have a special day of their own. Over the
years these festivals combined, the mass held on All
Saints' Day was called Allhallowmas (the mass of all
Hallows -- saintly people). The night before was known
as All Hallows Eve. Eventually this name became
Halloween.
In the 1800s, as a lot of people emigrated to the U.S.,
the holidays and traditions of different cultures merged.
Halloween was not always a happy time. October 31, or the
night before took on other names. Some called it Devil's
or Hell night, to others it was mischief night. To some
people this became a time to play tricks on others. Some
of these tricks were not fun at all. Community groups
and individuals took action and started to change
Halloween into a family event. Dressing up in costumes
and going "trick or treating", costume parades, community
parties and Fall festivals are some of the ways that
Halloween is celebrated today.
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