Halloween is a holiday that most of Europe and North America celebrates to this day. It's original origins can be traced back to Roman times. Even though the etymology of the word, Halloween, is Christian, it is generally thought of to have pagan roots. Halloween is influenced heavily by the Celtic holiday Samhain, meaning “the end of summer”. In both Ireland and Scotland it was a belief that this physical world and the supernatural world were closest during this time, so magical things can happen.
Samhain dates back to the ancient Celts who lived 2,000 years ago. “On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth (“Halloween”). Samhain, the Pagan holiday, in on November 1st but their celebrations did and still do start at sunset on October 31st. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes and danced around the bonfire. In addition to celebrations and dance, it was believed that the thin veil between the physical world and the other world provided extra energy for communications between the living and the dead.
Halloween started with the festival of Samhain. It was celebrated by the Celtics of Ireland on November 1st and was considered the end of summer; the date on which the herds were returned from pasture. It was also believed to be a time when the souls of those who had died would return to visit their homes. Villages lit bonfires on hilltops for the lighting of their hearth fires, which kept their houses warm in the winter, but also to frighten away evil spirits. They sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present.
In order not to be possessed people would dress up in costumes and terrorize their neighborhoods. The villagers in Ireland would also hold a town celebration with food offerings to the saints. These offerings came from farmers who would go door to door begging for food. They would also decorate their homes with skulls, skeletons, and jack-o-lanterns in hopes of warding off evil spirits. The 19th century is when Halloween lost its religious connection and became the community based holiday it is today.
The Europeans introduced a deadly wave of small pox and the measles, where slaves from Africa were brought over to grow and harvest sugar cane. These factors resulted in cultural and biological changes to the Americas. These transformations that took place between the Old World and the New is named the Columbian Exchange by historians. The Columbian Exchange resulted in the introduction of rice, wheat, oats, barley, and sugar cane to the New World. Horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens were some of the animals that were brought as well.
On this day, the king and other high authority figures would become peasants, and the ruler would be the one who found a seed within a cake rendering this new ruler as the lord of misrule. This represented the disrupt of natural order, a clear element within Shakespeare play Twelfth Night. At midnight, the rule and order reverted back to normal, conservative state which again could arguably be seen to occur at the end of Twelfth Night, when natural order is restored in almost every characters life. The play is filled right to the end with events that could be considered as “Topsy Turvy” and against the natural conservative order. One example of a key event that could be considered in this way is at the start of the play, when the ship that Viola is traveling on crashes, and physically capsizes and throws everyone overboard resulting in her assumption of her brother’s death.
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[35][36] It was held on or about 31 October – 1 November and kindred festivals were held at the same time of year by the Brittonic Celts; for example Calan Gaeaf (in Wales), Kalan Gwav (in Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (in Brittany). Samhain and Calan Gaeaf are mentioned in some of the earliest Irish and Welsh literature. The names have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up until the 19th century,[37] and are still the Gaelic and Welsh names for Halloween. Snap-Apple Night, painted by Daniel Maclise in 1833, shows people feasting and playing divination games on Halloween in Ireland. Samhain/Calan Gaeaf marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year.
It is now more common for a family to focus more on the elaborate party on the Saturday night than on the actual ceremony that takes place in the synagogue. Consumerism has driven us to ambiguously compete with one another during these celebrations, and the Christian holiday of Christmas bears the same resemblance. The practiced traditions of today are not a mirrored reflection of their original practice. The celebration of Christmas has morphed so much that for the average follower its initial origins are difficult to pinpoint. Over the past century in society, a new social climate has made its imprint on religious traditions, ceremonies, and holidays.
There is a video that I found on the internet where this is described a lot better that I will show the class during our presentation. The ghost dance is similar to the hoop dance because both forms of the dance were once illegal in the United States during the civil war. The Native American people had to illegally practice there dance forms and move from place to place while the United States was taking over there land. The Ghost dance would be practiced at night and was thought that the