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Halloween, SamhainSamhain Celtic calendar Coligny calendar Gaulish 62 lunar months Halloween Nos Calan Gaeaf Druid October 31 Superstition Feralia Pope Boniface IV All-hallows Eve Trick or treat Pumpkin Ducking apples Candy Ghosts Witches Black cats
Originally the Feast of the Dead was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the un dead. Today a lot of people still carry out that tradition, single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the invisible guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. < Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits... Most of the stories about the origin of Halloween are right and state that Halloween had its origins among the ancient Celts and is based on their Feast of Samhain. However, a writer in the 18th century incorrectly stated that Samhain was named after the famous Celtic "God of the Dead." Many religious people who are opposed to Halloween, picked up this belief and accepted it, without even checking. No such God ever existed ! The Great God Samhain appears to have been invented, as a God of the Dead before the ancient Celtic people and their religion were studied by historians and archaeologists.
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Samhain
is a festival held on October 31–November 1 in Celtic cultures. The name Samhain
is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".