Origins of Modern Halloween – What Are the Historical Roots of Our Halloween Celebrations?
Halloween has been celebrated in one form or another for over 2000 years, but how has it evolved over time to become the holiday we know today. What are the Origins Of Modern Halloween? It is certainly true that the festival of 2000 years ago bears little resemblance to the one we know today, but even in it’s oldest form it still contains elements we will recognize.
Ancient Times
The original source of what has evolved into our modern Halloween holiday can be traced back over 2000 years to the Celts that lived in and around Ireland and England. They celebrated their new year on November 1st as they regarded this to be the end of summer and the beginning of the cold dark winter period, a time that to the Celtic people was strongly associated with death.
They believed that the night before the new year the boundaries between the living and the dead realm was at its weakest, and the spirits of the dead could roam the land of the living. On this night they held the pagan celebration Samhain pronounced sow-in, it literally means summers end.
During this celebration they would gather together in fields and build large fires called bon fires that were supposed to ward away the spirits of the dead. They would also dress up in animal skins and wear animal masks and tell each others fortunes. At the end of the night each would take embers from the fire to light their homes fire grate, they believed that a fire lit from the Samhain bon fire would keep them safe from death throughout the winter period.
Roman Occupation
When the Romans came to Britain in 40AD they occupied the Celtic lands, and over the next 400 years of their rule the roman
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