The Ancient Roots of Halloween

Over time, the origins and meanings of many holidays, like Halloween, get lost in the mist of time. We do the same thing every year-dress up in costumes, go to parties and hand out treats to all who come to our door to avoid being the victims of tricks. But, Halloween is far from a modern day holiday. The history of Halloween goes back to the ancient Celts and Druids.

If we were able to go back in time to about 2,000 years ago in Ireland, when it was ruled by the ancient Celtic tribes, we would find them celebrating a holiday called "Samhain" or summer's end on October 31. It was more than the end of summer they were celebrating though, for the next day, November 1, was New Year's Day. This makes good sense. For the ancient celts, the year revolved around the summer, the time of living and the winter, the time everything was dead.

The ancient Celts also worshiped many gods and their god of death was Samhain. They believed that he gathered up the souls of the dead on October 31 and gave them permission to come back and visit the living so they could bring some of the warmth back with them for the coming winter months. Oh course, some of the returning spirits had a grudge or two to take out on their decedents and took advantage of their limited time on earth to get even with them by playing tricks. The holiday was also a way of saying thanks to Baal, the sun god for the harvest and to ask him for help getting through the winter.

Even cows play a part in the Celtic origins of Halloween. Cows were very important to the ancient Celts and they had the fear that the more rambunctious of the spirits would harm the cows, so the Druid priests would bless bells and hang them around the animals necks to scare the spirits away.

If me move forward to the 8th century, when the Celtic religion and Christianity were competing with each other, we see how Pope Gregory III tied two traditions together in order to gently get the population to participate in holy days. Back then, All Saints Day was celebrated in May. He moved it to November 1 ion the hope that the old ways would be abandoned for the new. Of course, that did not happen. We still hold on to some of the old traditions even if we don't hold to the old believes.

So the next time you have a Halloween party, think of the ancient traditions and maybe lift a glass or two to the ancient Celts and wish them a Happy New Year.

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