1. Halloween originates from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated by the Celts 2000 years ago in the land where you can nowadays find Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France.
2. The Celts lived in the land where you can nowadays find Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France.
3. October 31st was the end of summer and harvest season, which meant the beginning of winter, a season that was associated with human death.
4. The Celts had a new year on November 1st.
5. The Celts believed that on October 31st, the boundary between the worlds of the dead and the living overlapped, allowing spirits to come to earth.
6. The Celts believed the spirits caused trouble and damaged crops, but also enhanced prophecies by the Druids.
7. The Druids were the priests of the Celtic religion who predicted the future and lit large sacred bonfires for sacrifices and protection.
8. The Celts celebrated Samhain by lighting large sacred bonfires, dressing in animal skins and heads, and burning sacrifices to Celtic gods while telling each other’s fortunes.
9. The Roman festivals Feralia (honoring the passing of the dead) and Pomona (honoring the Roman goddess of fruit and trees) merged with Samhain.
10. The “bobbing” tradition likely comes from the Roman festival of Pomona, which honored the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.
11. Christianity affected the Celtic lands by replacing its pagan religion and supplanting old Celtic rituals, including All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd).
12. Halloween celebrations changed as Christianity replaced paganism, leading to All Hallows’ Eve becoming the night before All Saints’ Day, eventually evolving into modern Halloween.
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