the history of halloween
Post on 02-Mar-2016
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2,000 Years ago
Celts
› Ireland
› North France
› United Kingdom
End of Harvest
› New Years Eve
Winter was a time of death
› No Heaters
› Snow
› No electricity
› No escape from the cold
› No modern medicine
› No refrigerator
› No oven or stove
Celts believed that
ghosts returned to
earth on October
31st
› Ghosts
Caused trouble
Ruined crops
Helped Druids
(priests) to predict
the future
Druids built sacred bonfires
› Burnt crops and animal sacrifices
Celts wore costumes
› No costume stores
› No sewing machines
› WHAT WOULD YOU WEAR?
› WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WORE?
Druids built sacred bonfires
› Burnt crops and animal sacrifices
Celts wore costumes
› No costume stores
› No sewing machines
› WHAT WOULD YOU WEAR?
› WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WORE?
They wore animal heads and skins!
Romans took Celtic Territory
› 43 AD
› Ruled Celtic territory for 400 years!
Festivals Combined
› Feralia
Romans remembered the dead
› Honoring Pomona
Roman goddess of Fruit and Trees
“bobbing” for apples
Pope Boniface IV › May 13, 609
› Celebrate Christian Martyrs
Pope Gregory III › 732 AD
› Saints are included
› Holiday moved from May 13 to November 1
WHAT HAPPENS THE DAY BEFORE ALL MARTYRS DAY?
Celtic rights taken away and blended with Christian values
All Soul’s Day › November 2, 1000
› Day to honor the dead
› Christian church attempted to replace Celtic festival with a Christian holiday
› Celebrated with bonfires and costumes
Costumes were angels, saints, and devils
Also called All-hallows (means all saint’s) Night before was called All-hallows Eve
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Celebration frowned upon in early American settlements › Protestant beliefs
WHAT IS A PROTESTANT? › A protestant is a Christian that is NOT
Catholic
Common place for Halloween celebration › Maryland
› American Indians
Learned from American settlers in Maryland
“Play Parties” › Public events
Celebrating the harvest
› Neighbors shared stories of the dead, told fortunes, danced, and sang together
Ghost stories
Mischief Making › Practical Jokes
Autumn Festivals became common › 1800s
› Halloween still not celebrated in many places
Fun Fact:
Juliette
Gordon
Low was
born on
Halloween
in 1860!
New immigrants
› 1850s
› Irish Immigrants
Moved to America because of a famine in
Ireland
› Helped to make Halloween popular everywhere in America
WHAT IS A FAMINE?
Dressing up in costumes
Going from house to house
› Asking for food or money
Eventually called Trick or Treating
Young women
› Believed they could find the name of their
future husband
Tricks with yarn or mirrors
Halloween became about neighbors
Halloween stopped being about witchcraft and ghosts
Most common way to celebrate Halloween was to go to a party › No Trick or Treating
› Games
› Harvest Food
› Costumes
Frightening Halloween celebrations were frowned upon.
Halloween was no longer religious
Baby Boom
› 1950s
› Classroom Halloween Parties
Too many kids to have parties at parks!
› Trick or Treating began again!
The only way the community could celebrate
together
Today, $6 billion is spent on Halloween
“All Souls’ Day parades in England
› Poor people begged for food
› Rich families gave poor people “soul cakes”
Poor families promised to pray for the rich
family’s dead relatives
Encouraged by the church
Called “going a-souling”
Eventually only children did this
Visited neighbors houses for beer, food, and money
SOUND FAMILIAR?
NOW Ghosts are scary!
Black cats are bad
luck
Don’t walk under a
ladder!
Boys love Halloween
THEN Ghosts were family
and were friendly
Black cats were
witches in disguise
NOTHING to do with
Halloween – this was
from the Egyptians!
Halloween was more
about girls finding
husbands!!
Girls did not work
› Many did not go to school
› Girls were to get married, have babies, cook, and clean
Many Halloween traditions focused on
helping girls find a husband or reassuring
them that they would find a husband
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT
THIS?
Cooks hid rings in mashed potatoes
› Girl who finds it will find love
Girls wrote names of suitors (possible
husbands) on nuts
› Girls threw nut into fireplace
› If nut burned instead of popping, that would
be their husband
Girls would dream of husband on
Halloween if they ate a special dessert
Threw apple peals over shoulders
› Landing in the shape of the initials of their
husband
Stood in a dark room holding a candle
› Looked in a mirror to see their husband’s
face near their shoulders
The first successful apple-bobber would
be the first to marry
How will you celebrate this year?
Will you think about Halloween differently from now on?
What did you learn from this?
What do you like most?
What do you like least?
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