I’ve always celebrated Halloween, but I’ve never known how it began. It all started when the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin, then they thought that weird creatures can wander on Earth.  According to familyeducation.com The Celts had a big party and it was all about scaring away the ghosts and spirits which then later on America copied from the Irish and Scottish people that moved there.

 

   The meaning behind Jack o’ Lanterns is a frightening tale. It started when a farmer named Jack died and was denied from both heaven and hell. As he wandered through the darkness of purgatory, he made a lantern out of a carved out turnip and a lump of coal to help light the way and guide his lost soul.  Familyeducation.com stated that the Celtics believed that placing Jack o’ Lanterns outside will help guide lost souls home as they were wandering through the streets during Samhain. The carved face on pumpkin’s also served to scare evil spirits away.

   As stated from familyeducation.com, the children from the 1950’s have been wearing costumes and trick or treating but in the earlier days, the poor families trick or treated but not for candy, instead they wanted to receive sweet pastries, money.  They also may have wore costumes such as ghosts so their souls wouldn’t be taken by evil spirits.

   According to familyeducation.com, black cats have also been associated in halloween.  They were associated because some cats are owned by old women. Locals thought that the cats were given to the women from the devil.  Most of the time, the owners were poor, they usually walked the woods with broom sticks. Bats and spiders were also thought to be witches’ and ghosts’ things.  Some locals’ claims that if a bat was seen flying around a home of someone three times, someone inside was going to die. And if a bat flew into your house on Halloween, it meant that a ghost had let it in, and the house was haunted.  Also, if a spider falls into a candle-lit lamp and was burnt by flame, a witch is nearby.

The colors orange and black was used by the pagans as they celebrated harvest. Furthermore, family education.com stated that “orange stood as the vibrant colors of their crops, while black stood for the death of summer.”

   After reading an article from familyeducation.com  Celtic folklore dates witches at Halloween back to the pagan goddess known as “the Crone” or the old one who was honored during Samhain and symbolized wisdom and the changing of the season.  The Celtics also believed that when someone died, the person’s soul went to the crone’s cauldron. Accusing women of witchcraft was used as a way to keep them from threatening male supremacy.

   Since then, halloween has been celebrated everywhere around the world.