Origins

Halloween began two thousand years ago in Ireland, England, and Northern France It originates from Paganism, the ancient religion of the Celts

They celebrated their New Year on November 1st

This time of year was often associated with human death because it marked the beginning of a dark, cold winter.

Samhain (sow-in)
On the night of October 31st, they celebrated Samhain On this date, they believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

Costumes
People believed that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes

So they wore costumes.

The Christian Influence

In the 7th century, the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands Pope Boniface IV introduced All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs This replaced the Pagan festival of Samhain and occurred on May 13th

A change of date
In 834, Pope Gregory III moved All Saint's Day from May 13th to Nov. 1st So, Oct. 31st became All Hallows' Eve ('hallow' means 'saint').

All Souls Day

All Souls Day, which occurred on November 2nd, was a day to commemorate (to honour and remember) the dead This date was set by the Roman Catholic Church

Trick-or-treating began with the poor in the 15th century

During the All Souls Day festival in England, poor people would beg for soul cakes Soul cakes were square pieces of bread with currants Families would give soul cakes in return for a promise to pray for the familys relatives

then children
Begging for soul cakes was referred to as "going a-souling" Children began to participate, and they would visit the houses in their neighborhood and receive ale, food, and money

Today
Children still go from house-tohouse, but instead of ale, food, and money, they get candy!

How did Halloween start in North America?

Due to the potato famine, in 1848 millions of Irish emigrants came to America In America, they continued their traditions of Halloween

Thus, Halloween came to America

They called Halloween Oidche Shamhna (`Night of Samhain') This was the name that their ancestors referred to Halloween as

The Jack-O-Lantern
The Irish used to carry turnips with candles in them This was to light their way at night and to scare away ghosts

 When they arrived in America, they found that pumpkins were easier to carve than turnips America also had large quantities of pumpkins available

Now, people use Jack-o-Lanterns to decorate their houses!

Carving Jack-O-Lanterns has become an art form

Today people dress up

Go to parties

Take their kids trick-or-treating.

Watch scary movies

Eat lots of candy

And sweets!

If you dont give candy to a trick-ortreater

This could happen to you!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

And now, a quiz

 What ancient Celtic religion is Halloween based on?

 Paganism

 When did the Celts celebrate their New Year?

 November 1st

 On October during Samhain, what did the Celts believe would happen?

st, 31

 The ghosts of the dead would return and roam the earth

 Why did the ancient Celts dress up in costume?

 They believed it would keep them safe and confuse the ghosts

 What is Halloween short for?

 All Hallows Eve

 On November the church set aside this date to commemorate the dead. What is it called?

nd, 2

 All Souls Day

 What was customary for poor people to beg for?

 Soul Cakes

 Who brought Halloween to America?

 The Irish

 What vegetable did the Irish traditionally carry to ward off evil spirits?

 The Turnip!

 In America, why did the Irish use pumpkins instead of turnips?

 It was easier to carve, and there were massive amounts of pumpkins available in America

Happy Halloween Everyone!