Spooky Getup in Honor?

Yesterday was Halloween and children (and some adults) dressed up to celebrate this unique festival. Pirates, mermaid, Satan, monkey, or a zombie surgeon — all to honor our ancestors? Sounds silly as some of the costumes but that was the intention of the Halloween Day.

The Halloween history originates from celebration of harvest to thank god(s), the ancestors, and to ward off evil spirits. The most cited source comes from ancient Ireland.

“This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, Celts (Ireland natives 2000 years ago) celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.”

Similar practices or rituals were practiced by other farming communities around the world around this time of the year — after the harvest and before onset of winter.

Sources: History.com, Wikipedia

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