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. To ward off spirits the Gaels would light massive bonfires. In the Western Isles they would hold a festival of the fairies, souls of the dead flying through the air. Even with all the pagan roots Christianity still had a considerable impact on Halloween. This was the time of the year when Christians honored saints and prayed for the recently dead that were still traveling to heaven.
Halloween vs. Day of the Dead Many think Halloween and the Day of the Dead are the same type of holiday. In fact they are completely two different holidays, but with some similarities. Halloween originated in Ireland was originally about warding off evil spirits by disguising in costume. Farmers in Ireland would also go door to door asking for food as an offering to the Saints. Their hope was the saints would take the offering and protect them from the evil spirits.
Halloween vs. Christmas Countries all over the world have their own traditions where people come together for a sole purpose, to celebrate. Despite the big cultural differences, there are certain holidays that are celebrated in the same way in different if not, in all parts of the world. At the end of each year Halloween and Christmas are celebrated in a huge way. Even though they are both celebrations where people come together to eat, drink and party, they still have their differences. During Halloween and Christmas people tend to get dressed up for the occasion.
In the following century it was moved November 1st in an effort to mix the pagan and Christian holiday. The night before All Saints Day somehow became a holy or hallowed eve and started to be celebrated. This is where we get the name Halloween. The Reformation banned All Saints Day, but in Ireland, Halloween continued to be celebrated as a secular holiday. Along with other festivals, the celebration of Halloween was forbidden among the early American colonists, although in the 1800s there developed festivals that marked the beginning and end of harvest and included parts of Halloween.
Halloween Speech (Town Speech...) Greetings to one and all, my name as you all know is Scarah Skeletons. I'm here today to congratulate everyone in our town a spectacular scare in this years Halloween, everyone has outdone themselves this time, bravo to you all. I'd like to especially make a big felicitations to the top 5 scarers of this year, Jack The Pumpkin King, Steve The Infamous Mummy Monster, Quinn The Magnificent Trickster, Clawd The Horrendous Werewolf, and Deuce The Son Of The Legendary Count Dracula. I also hope everyone enjoyed this hallows eve just as much as I did. I thought I'd take a step back to marvel at our horrifying work, such tremendous times we've had together and still more to come.
However some other people believe that Christmas is not a celebration of Christ as even though Historians doe believe he was born on the 25th they are unsure of which month and it is likely it is a summer month. The Church may have chosen the 25th of December so as to compete with pagan rituals. It is also suggested that Christmas is actually the celebration of Greek God Mithra rather than the birth of Jesus. Many Christmas customs that we have today began long before the birth of Jesus and originated from earlier festivals which were nothing to do with the Christian Church. Christmas today may be based on Christian beliefs but they are no longer practised by the majority in Britain.
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.
[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.
THE TWELFTH NIGHT Twelfth night is a name commonly given to the Christian Feast of the Epiphany, which is celebrated on the 6th of January and which commemorates the coming of the Magi- the 3 wise men to where Christ was born. They brought with them the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, which were appropriate for an infant king. Winter festivals Almost all societies and cultures find it necessary to have some kind of holiday in the middle of winter. The ancient Romans used to hold an annual ‘Saturnalia’ for about a week in the middle of December. During this period all forms of public order were suspended, the law courts and schools were closed, trading ceased and no criminals were executed.
The true purpose of Halloween At the age of 7 years old my live was full of interest and marvel about life. One day lucking outside the window in October thirty-first of 1992 I saw a host of kids dress up in front of my house with different outfits who where dress like princes, cats, and many cartoon characters and I question “Why?” I current dress like them so, I decide to ask my parents of “Why?” I current dress like them. My parents explain that it was against God to celebrate this kind of celebrations but, their where not specific with me so, at that point I was very disappointed with my parents of not giving me the true of what was going on. After that years past by and my curiosity never ended. In January of 2009 when I became Christian, I decide to study the Bible will my curiosity of not knowing the purpose of Halloween had push me to read the hole bible to find answers of all those questions I had about Halloween since I was little and, also to know the true purpose of God of what he wants from me and what he expects about his children to glorify his name.