On the night of November 1, the Eve of All Saints Day - Halloween (Halloween) is celebrated. This holiday is rooted in the depths of centuries, and we celebrate it thanks to the traditions laid down by the ancient Celts.
The people of the pre-Christian era, living in the territories of present-day England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Northern France, had only two seasons - summer, which ended on October 31, and winter, which began on November 1. Therefore, it was on the night of November 1 that the Celts celebrated the New Year, and at the same time celebrated the harvest festival. They also believed that on October 31, the god of the dead collects the souls of all those who died in the past year, and in order to repay their sins, he puts souls in the shell of animals, which where depends on the sins themselves.
In addition, the Celts also worshiped the sun god. In order for the Sun to be their good ally and promote a rich harvest for the next year, as well as to help strengthen the Sun's power for its coming fight against the cold winter and dark forces, the Celts lit huge bonfires on the hills and made generous sacrifices to the Sun god on November 1. This day was the beginning of the New Year in the Celtic calendar.
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But having conquered the Celtic tribes in the territory of modern France, the Romans brought their customs with them. Note that on November 1 in Ancient Rome, celebrations were held in honor of the goddess of fertility Pomona.
Thus, the customs of different peoples have mixed. And, as a result, there was one big autumn holiday, which continued to be celebrated on November 1.
In the Middle Ages, the “Day of All Saints” was appointed for November 1 - on this day, all the saints who did not have their special days during the year were honored. It was not by chance that the church chose November 1 for this holiday - thus she hoped to put an end to pagan rituals and traditions that came from antiquity. This holiday was called “All Saints 'Day” or “All Hallows' Day”.
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But no matter how much the clergy would like the ancient traditions to disappear into oblivion, they remain. People in many countries continue to celebrate on the eve of All Saints Day. It became known as “All Hallows Even” and was gradually shortened to “Halloween”. While November 1 became the day for religious thought and church service, the evening before continued to be a time for magic and superstition.
It was believed that on the eve of All Saints Day, all the forces of evil - witches, sorcerers, goblins, demons and other evil spirits, led by the devil himself - gather together in order to arrange all sorts of atrocities and somehow harm on the eve of the holiday. In each country, there was a certain place for gathering evil spirits - the Ardennes Forest in France, the Brocken mountain in Germany, Blocksberg in Sweden. And in England, every ruined abbey, the ruins of an old church or monument could serve as a gathering place for them.
Initially, this day was called All Hallows Even, and over the years the name was shortened to Halloween.
Based on the beliefs of the ancient Celts, it was on this night that the doors of the worlds of the living and the dead opened and otherworldly inhabitants easily penetrated the earth. But in order not to fall into the hands of evil spirits, demons and other evil spirits, the Celts extinguished the fire in their homes, put on the skins of animals to scare away ghosts from themselves. To appease the spirits, the ancient people left treats for them near their homes, and they themselves gathered together around the fires and sacrificed animals to their deities. The pumpkin, which personified the harvest, was considered an integral symbol of the holiday. And in order to scare away evil spirits, its core was cut out and a fire was lit in it.
At the beginning of our era, the Celtic territory was conquered by the Romans, and by the beginning of the IV century, Christianity not only acquired rights equal to paganism, but also became the predominant religion in the Roman Empire, suppressing the performance of all pagan rites. In the middle of the VIII century, by the decree of Pope Gregory III, November 1 was declared All Saints Day. With this, the Christian church wanted to eradicate pagan holidays, but Halloween not only managed to survive, but also in the minds of people merged with the generally accepted church holiday.
Nowadays, this tradition comes down to treating children disguised as witches and ghosts, and threatening us: "Sweets or life!", All kinds of sweets.