What is Halloween, what is its origin, traditions, and what is the relationship of pumpkins to this holiday?

You may have come dressed up to celebrate Halloween, but do you know this holiday and its origins

There is a common belief that the festivities go back to ancient Celtic (or Celtic) traditions. The Celts (or Celts) are the group of peoples belonging to the western branch of the Indo-European peoples group, and their linguistic, archaeological and heritage extensions are the Irish and Scottish people, according to some historical theories, those celebrations were linked to the harvest seasons and the harvesting of crops. The relationship between agricultural seasons and rituals associated with the unknown and supernatural forces is common in history.

Previously, these ceremonies included "predicting the future" regarding death, marriage, and similar matters.

In another interpretation, the subject has to do with a Celtic festival called "Samhain", associated with the onset of cold and darkness (where the day is shorter and the night is long). According to Celtic belief, the sun god falls into death and darkness on October 31. On this night, the souls of the dead wander in their kingdom, and try to return to the world of the living.

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On this night, the Darwinian priests (pious priests in ancient Gaul, Britain and Ireland) held a great feast, and they believed that the great god of death, called Samhain, calls on this night all the evil spirits that died during the year and whose punishment was to resume Life in the bodies of animals, and of course this idea was enough to frighten people so they would light a huge torch and keep a close watch on these evil spirits.

Hence the idea that witches and spirits are here and there on Halloween, in fact.

In Christianity, the subject is linked to different beliefs.

Halloween night precedes the day known in Christianity as All Saints' Day. The word “saint” has a synonym, “Halomas,” and there were similar celebrations in the three days preceding other Christian holidays, such as Easter, which included prayers for the souls of those who had recently departed.

This holiday appeared in its modern form in the United States in the nineteenth century with the immigration of the Irish to it, along with their customs, traditions and stories.

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There are various manifestations of its celebration around the world now. In Austria, they leave some bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before they go to sleep on Halloween night, and this is intended to receive visiting spirits.

In China, they put food and water in front of pictures of the dear departed.

In the Czech Republic, they put chairs around the fire, one for each living family member, and one for each dead person.

The world celebrates Halloween

Perhaps the richest celebrations take place in Mexico and Latin American countries, where Halloween is a feast of fun and joy and an occasion to remember friends and loved ones who have passed away.

One aspect of the feast celebration is that families build an altar in their house and decorate it with sweets, flowers and pictures of those who have gone, in addition to their favorite foods and drinks.

They also clean cemeteries and put flowers on graves.

Sometimes they put a living person in a coffin and tour the neighborhood or village, while sellers throw fruits and flowers into the coffin.

What does the word Halloween mean?

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This word is a distortion of the phrase "Halloween Evening", which means the night before All Saints' Day in the Catholic Christian community. It is a holiday celebrated on the 31st of November every year. Thus, Halloween is celebrated on October XNUMX of every year.

And because this holiday is mainly pagan, Christianity was baptized after its emergence to prevent its celebration.

But with the passage of time and throughout history, people's holidays have mixed between religious and pagan.

What does trick or treat mean?

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Halloween traditions include a ritual known as trick-or-treat in which, during the holiday period, children go from house to house dressed in Halloween costumes, asking for candy from the homeowners, by asking the question trick or treat? On whoever opens the door, and this phrase means that if the owner of the house does not give any candy to the child, he will cast a trick or magic on the owner of the house or his property.

Why pumpkin fruit in Halloween?

Halloween has been associated in many cultures with the fruits of the pumpkin, and perhaps the most important symbol of it is the so-called “pumpkin lamp”.

Legend says that a man named Jack was lazy, did not like to work, got drunk and blocked the road, and all this was because of the devil's whispers. But he was smart.

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And when Jack wanted to repent, he lured the devil and convinced him to climb to the top of a tree, and when the devil climbed to the top of the tree, Jack dug a cross in the trunk of the tree, so the devil panicked and stayed stuck on top of the tree.

And when Jack died, he was not allowed to enter Heaven because of his deeds, and he did not find a place for him in Hell, but was sentenced to eternal homelessness, and in order not to wander in the dark, he was given a glimpse of the fire of Hell.

In later Halloween celebrations inspired by Jack's story, he replaced the basil with a carrot, then the Americans replaced it with a squash. Thus the gourd lamp was born.

Later on, the pumpkin became a symbol of Halloween in North America.

Do the revelers wear their normal dress or disguise? Is disguise required to be terrifying?

It is believed that the costumes that are currently used in Halloween celebrations are similar to the folk costumes of the ancient Celtic peoples, who crowned the end of the agricultural seasons with those celebrations.

There are shapes and colors of Halloween clothes and masks, which change through generations and follow the latest fashion trends, but revolve around the idea of ​​death and ghosts in general.

In recent years, clothes and masks have begun to draw their inspiration from Hollywood movie characters, such as "Batman" and "Spider-Man".

Young men and girls try to be creative in choosing surprising clothes, and it is not rare that they imbue them with romantic or sexually exciting looks.