All Saints Day Halloween is celebrated on the night of October 31st to November 1st. Every year this holiday becomes more and more popular with us. But where did Halloween come from and what is the meaning and customs of this holiday? Let's try to find out Few people know, but Halloween is not a newly minted costume holiday. Its roots go back to the pre-Christian era. It was at this time that the Celtic tribes, who lived in England, Ireland and Northern France, shared winter and summer for a year. It was on October 31 that they considered the last day of the outgoing year. This day also marked the end of the harvest and the transition to a new winter season. And from that day, traditionally, winter began. New Year celebrated on the night of the first of November. This did not happen in the same way as in the modern representation of the celebration of the New Year, writes segodnya.ua

According to the ancient belief of the Celts, on this night, the worlds of the living and the dead were opened. The Celts themselves called this night Samhain or Samhain. In order not to become victims of spirits and ghosts, the Celts put out fires in their homes, put on animal skins to scare away uninvited aliens. On the street near the houses, treats were left for the spirits, and the people themselves gathered around the fires. Hence the tradition to make costumes, treat them with sweets and all sorts of goodies.

After the traditional sacrifice, people took the sacred fire to bring it into their homes. The symbol of the holiday was a pumpkin, because it meant not only the end of summer and harvest, but also scared away evil spirits with a sacred fire that was lit inside it. The gourd also helped souls find their way to purgatory.

Accordingly, hence the tradition - people put in the windows a hollow pumpkin with carved eyes and a mouth and a candle inside it is also called ‘Jack Lantern’. However, there are many legends about the Jack-O-Lantern, invented centuries later.

The legend has its origins in Ireland. According to history, in one village, there lived a nasty drunk named Jack. Nobody wanted to do business with him. Things got to the point that Jack took the Devil as an associate, who at that time walked the earth, looking for a profit for himself. However, Jack, by cunning and cunning, forced Satan to turn into a coin, and quickly put it in his pocket, but there was also a cross. The devil is just a sharp knife. To get freedom, the Devil was forced to promise Jack that he would not bother him for 10 years.

After 10 years, the Devil returned to earth for the soul of Jack, but he tricked him again. And when Jack died, he was not taken to either heaven or hell. The devil granted Jack a small piece of hellfire to light the way for his restless soul. And so that strong winds would not blow out the light, Jack placed it in a hollowed out turnip. And so the light in the turnip became a symbol of a restless soul. However, the popularity of the turnip did not last long, and pumpkin took its place. And for the first time the concept of ‘Jack Lantern’ appeared at the end of the 17th century.

But at the beginning of our era, the Romans came to the land of the Celts. Two more Roman holidays were mixed with the Celtic holiday: Feralia (falling at the end of October, on this day the Romans commemorated the dead) and the day of Pomona, the goddess of tree fruits. Pope Gregory IV already in 709 made November 1 a common holiday for the entire Catholic Church in honor of All Saints.

Initially, the holiday was called All Hallows Even, or All Hallows Eve (Mass of All Saints), later it was called Hallowe'en, and, eventually, Halloween. And although the church struggled for a long time with the custom of frightening and appeasing evil spirits on this day, the pagan holiday not only survived, but also inseparably merged in the popular consciousness with the church holiday.

Xhalloween(also XHalloween) (English Halloween, All Hallows "Eve or All Saints" Eve) or Witch's Night (Slovenian Noč čarovnic, Serbohorv., Noћ veshtitsa / Noć vještica) is a modern holiday dating back to the traditions of the ancient Celts of Ireland and Scotland, whose history began in present-day Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Celebrated on the night of November 1st. After the adoption of Christianity, it was celebrated as evening.

Celebrated in the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK. Not being public holiday Halloween is second only to Christmas in popularity.

History of the holiday. The name Halloween was first mentioned in 1745. The word comes from the English Hallowe "en - an abbreviation of the expression All Hallow" s Eve - the evening (eve) of All Saints' Day, which in turn stands for All Hallowed Souls Eve - literally: Evening of All Saints Souls.

According to many researchers, Halloween is a Christianized holiday and comes from the Celtic holidays of the harvest and the days of the dead, that is, it has pagan roots, in particular from the Scottish holiday of Samhain (celebrated as a holiday of the beginning of the new year, and also as a day of honoring the dead). There are also suggestions that Halloween developed independently of Samhain and has a Christian basis.

In the VIII century (November 1), Samhain begins to gradually replace; thanks to the interpenetration of Gaelic traditions and Catholic rites, the first rudiments of the future Halloween begin to form. The day after the Catholic Day of All Saints (November 2) is celebrated the Day of All the Faithful Departed. In Orthodox churches, the celebration of All Saints Day falls on the first Sunday after the Holy Trinity Day (in 2017 - June 4).

Around the 16th century, there was a tradition of begging for sweets on the night of October 31st. Children and adults put on cloth masks and went from one door to another, demanding treats from the hosts and playing pranks. custom to put on carnival costumes and carrying a "Jack lamp" appeared only at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and in exchange for money or food, it was initially necessary to offer various entertainments. Subsequently, due to the mass emigration of the Scots and Irish to the United States, Halloween becomes popular there as well.

Holiday symbols. Halloween symbols have a long history. The main symbol of the holiday is a pumpkin lantern in the shape of a human head, the so-called "Jack-o"-lantern. It is a pumpkin, on which an ominously smiling face is carved; a lit candle is placed inside the pumpkin. The tradition of making pumpkins -lanterns came from the Celtic custom of creating lanterns to help souls find their way to purgatory.It was also believed that such a lantern, left on All Saints' Day near the house, would drive away evil spirits from it.In Scotland, the turnip acted as a symbol of Halloween, but in North America it was replaced by the pumpkin as a cheaper and more accessible vegetable.The first recorded creation of gourds in America was in 1837. This ritual, which took place at harvest time, had nothing to do with Halloween until the second half of the 19th century.

Dressing in carnival costumes is a relatively recent element of the holiday. For the first time as a full-fledged custom, it was recorded at the beginning of the 20th century and goes back to the American traditions of costume parties. The wearing of masquerade costumes on Halloween is recorded in 1895 in Scotland, when masked children went from house to house and received candy, cake, fruit and money. The main theme of Halloween costumes is characters from classic horror films, such as The Mummy and Frankenstein, various evil spirits or supernatural characters.

Symbols of autumn, such as rural scarecrows, play an important role in the festive decoration of houses. The main themes of Halloween are mysticism, death, evil, and monsters. The traditional Halloween colors are black and orange.

Celebration in the world. Halloween began to be actively celebrated in the 19th century in the United States and Canada, and after that it spread throughout the world. During the celebration of Halloween, themed costume parties are held, houses and buildings are decorated with carved pumpkin lanterns, bonfires are made, pranks are played, scary stories are told, horror films are watched, and the like.

Traditionally, on Halloween, children beg for sweets. Children in carnival costumes (most often monsters) travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase English. Trick-or-treating (lit. "Trouble or treat", there is no established translation into Russian; also known as Guising).

In Europe, Halloween parties are especially popular in ancient castles where ghosts roam. According to the pagan beliefs of Western Europeans, on Halloween night, the door to the other world opens, and the spirits of the dead come to earth to find a suitable body. Therefore, from all kinds of skeletons, vampires and ghosts that can knock on your door, experienced people advise you to pay off - pour a bag of treats.

In the United States and Great Britain, celebrations begin early: the evening before Halloween, October 30, is called the Night of Pranks (Mischief Night). This evening, children and teenagers have the right to prank acquaintances and neighbors. Typical pranks include smearing car windows with soap, throwing eggs and rotten vegetables at houses. Children can wrap trees with toilet paper or ring the doorbell and then run. Often, such jokes border on vandalism, which is why stores often do not sell eggs to children during the Halloween period.

In France, some families, on the eve of the holiday, pray next to the graves of their loved ones, setting dishes full of milk for them. On Halloween, in Italy, some families leave food for the ghosts of their deceased relatives before going to church. In Spain, special cakes known as "the bones of the saint" (Spanish: huesos de Santo) are baked on this night and placed on graves in the cemetery, a practice that continues to this day.

Photo: iStock/Global Images Ukraine

Halloween is a holiday traditionally celebrated on the eve of the Catholic Day of All Saints, on the night of October 31st to November 1st. It is especially common in English-speaking countries.
It is widely celebrated in the UK, Northern Ireland, USA, Australia and New Zealand, although it is not a public holiday. The characteristic paraphernalia and mystical background gradually make this holiday popular in most countries of the world, including Russia.
History of occurrence
Halloween, like many other modern European holidays, has its origins in the pre-Christian era. It was then that the people of the Celts were settled by many tribes in the territory of present-day France, Ireland and Great Britain. The ancient Celts had their own language, pagan beliefs and a calendar that divided the year into two halves - summer and winter. The dark part of the year, winter, when agricultural work was impossible, began in November, and October 31st was the last day of the outgoing year. The same number was also the last day of harvesting.
The celebration of the New Year and the completion of the field work lasted a whole week. The middle of the holiday was the night of the first of November. This day the Celts called Samhain, which means "end of summer" in the local language. In addition to sharing the harvest, it was customary to especially honor the dead on this day. It was believed that on the night between the last and the first day of the year, the door to the other world magically opens, and the souls of the dead, ghosts, come out to people.
In order not to become an accidental victim of the inhabitants of the underworld, the Celts dressed in animal skins, left their dark dwellings at night, near which tasty gifts were left for ghosts, and gathered around huge, two-row bonfires lit by druids. Between these bonfires, it was customary for the whole tribe to pass, with children in their arms, and also to jump over smaller bonfires. It was believed that the power of fire cleanses people and allows them to enter the New Year with a pure soul. On the holiday, part of the cattle was also slaughtered, the bones of the slain animals were thrown into the Sacred Fire, and the future was predicted from the drawing left by the fire on the bones.

At the same time, there was a tradition of carving faces expressing various emotions on the harvested vegetables. Most often, the carving was done on the turnip, a type of fodder turnip grown for livestock. Leaving with main night celebrating Samhain, everyone took with them a hollow “head” of turnips, inside of which red-hot coals from the Holy Fire were placed. Such a lamp drove away evil spirits roaming the streets until the morning. It was he who became the prototype of the Jack-O-Lantern.
The original traditions of the celebration of the Celtic New Year were passed down from generation to generation almost until the beginning of our era. Only after the conquest by the Romans, the Celts adopted Christianity and were forced to forget about their pagan customs. But with the advent of Catholicism, Samhain suddenly received a new round of development - the ancient Celtic traditions of its celebration were reflected in the church holiday of All Saints Day, celebrated on November 1st. The eve of this day, called in English language Hallows-Even - Hallows Evening or "Evening of the Saints", over time acquired an abbreviated name inherent in modern holiday, Halloween (Halloween). At the same time, Halloween received an ominous reputation as a black pagan celebration only in the Middle Ages, when it was described in this way by Christian monks.
Holiday symbols
The night before the holiday, All Saints Day is celebrated according to the changed times, but still retaining the main features, Celtic beliefs. On Halloween, the celebrants dress up in carnival costumes, have parties and festivities. The main symbol of this day is a lantern carved from a large pumpkin. The Celts made such lamps on the occasion of the harvest, as well as so that the lost dead Souls quickly found a way to the other world with the help of a lantern. The traditional vegetable used to be fodder turnip, but with the advent of the holiday in the United States, pumpkin has become more popular as a vegetable, more common and cheaper in the autumn season.

Among the costumes made for Halloween, frightening characters are traditionally considered the most popular: vampires, werewolves, monsters, witches, ghosts and other mystical heroes. Celebrants decorate their homes with an autumn motif, pumpkin lamps are placed on the porch and window sills. In addition to vegetable lanterns, garden scarecrows, paper and plastic skeletons, cobwebs, candles, and dried plant and leaf arrangements are popular decoration items. By tradition, the main colors of the holiday were all shades of orange and black.
Lamp Jack
A large ripe pumpkin, with a very frightening face carved on it, which is illuminated by a candle lit from the inside, has become the main symbol of Halloween. This homemade lantern was given the name Jack Lantern or Jack Lantern. An ancient Irish legend is connected with the history of the emergence of this brightest symbol of the holiday.
It is believed that Jack was a blacksmith, very greedy and hungry for money and booze. The inhabitants of his village are so tired of the importunate drinking companion that there are simply no people who want to miss a glass with him. Then Jack offered to drink a bottle in a local eatery to Lucifer himself. The devil agreed to keep him company. And when it was time to pay for the drink, Jack suggested that the naive Satan turn into a coin, to which he also agreed. The cunning blacksmith, without thinking twice, immediately hid the coin in his pocket, where a pre-prepared cross was already waiting. Lucifer fell into a trap and could not get out of the trap where the image of the Savior was. Jack surrendered to Satan's persuasion to release him in exchange for a promise to help the blacksmith in every possible way in business.

The devil fell into Jack's trap for the second time, when the cunning blacksmith begged him to get apples from the very top of the tree. Lucifer, who climbed to the top, simply could not get off it, since Jack depicted a cross on the crown of the apple tree. This time, Satan managed to escape by promising Jack not to take his soul after death. The blacksmith-drunkard released Lucifer and lived a carefree life, and when the hour of death came, they refused to accept his soul in both Paradise and Hell. Unnecessary to either the Devil or God, the blacksmith began to wander in search of Purgatory. He illuminated his path with a lantern carved from a hollow turnip, in which the remains of coals smoldered.
Lamps made of vegetables, traditionally from turnips, the British left on the porch of their houses on the feast of All Saints' Day in order to drive away unfriendly spirits from their homes. In North America, this tradition did not spread until the nineteenth century, when European emigrants settled the country. At the same time, the Jack Lamp became a direct symbol of Halloween only at the very end of the 19th century.
halloween music
The ancient Celts did not accompany the Samhain holiday with any music, so this day has no traditional musical accompaniment. But Halloween, as a holiday that gained the greatest popularity already in the twentieth century, found its own theme songs and melodies. Since the main leitmotif of the celebration is mysticism, the theme of the other world and its inhabitants, the corresponding music is played. So, the song "Monstrous Mush" performed by Bobby Pickett is considered the anthem of Halloween. The soundtrack from The Nightmare Eve Christmas Musical is also very popular at Halloween parties. The theme of this holiday is also imbued with the work of the Midnight Syndicate (“Midnight Syndicate”), many of whose compositions are filled with a mystical theme.
Mixes of frightening sounds, such as howling wolves, ominous creaks, mysterious howls and evil laughter, are often used in Halloween attractions and fun. At youth parties on the occasion of the holiday, popular cheerful and dance music is used. In the clubs - remixes and tracks specially created by DJs.
Holiday traditions
The main tradition of the holiday was the dressing in fancy dresses, visits to specialized attractions, games, begging for sweets and parties with a festive table.
Suits
Putting on carnival costumes for this holiday originates in the tradition of the Celtic peoples to dress in animal skins on Samhain to protect themselves from evil spirits and ghosts. In modern history, it was not until the late nineteenth century that dressing up in a scary Halloween costume became accepted. For the first time such a case was described in the UK, 1895. Local kids, dressed in masks and outfits of fairy-tale characters, went to the neighbors' houses to collect goodies and small coins. In the rest of Europe, as well as in North America, such a tradition did not exist until the beginning of the 20th century.
Today, carnival costumes for the celebration of Halloween begin to be sold in the summer. In the US, there are specialized stores and shops for these purposes. And if a hundred years ago baby suit included only an ugly mask depicting a haggard, disfigured face, now any factory-made Halloween costume looks really festive and bright. As a rule, adults and children dress up in the image of fantastic movie characters, fairy-tale characters, both evil and frightening, for example, zombies, and good ones.

With the advent of the 21st century, Halloween parties began to turn into real fancy-dress shows. So, in 2014, the images of the heroes of the Harry Potter saga became the most popular costumes for the holiday. At the same time, people use not only the masks and clothes of the characters, but also completely recreate the image of the chosen character, using makeup and accessories.
Begging for a treat
The traditional entertainment on Halloween, oddly enough, is primarily reminiscent of Christmas. Just like in Russia during Svyatki, children dressed in costumes go from house to house and hope to receive sweets or coins from their neighbors. But on Halloween, this tradition has its own characteristics.
Children dress up in clothes and masks depicting monsters or other unkind characters, go from house to house in the neighborhood, begging for various sweets. At the same time, they ask the owners the question “Trick or treat?”, Which means “Trick or Treat?” in translation. This question contains a joking threat to cause some kind of trouble to the owners if they do not give the children coins, sweets or other treats.
This tradition has spread in Western Europe and America since the beginning of the twentieth century. At the same time, neighbors who want to see costumed children on the threshold of their house decorate the porch with Halloween symbols - a Jack-O-Lantern, candles, artificial skeletons and other frightening things. And those who do not want to participate in the general fun simply put out a basket filled to the brim with a sweet treat.

Despite modern distribution, the tradition of begging for food during church holidays has its roots in the Middle Ages. At that time, it was commonplace that the poor on this holiday come to sing prayers and mournful songs under the windows of the townspeople, hoping to receive food or money. With Halloween, this tradition was first combined in the UK in 1895, when children in one of the villages dressed up in costumes and went through the houses of their neighbors, begging for sweets.
Most common in modern world the tradition of asking for sweets from neighbors was received in the USA, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, countries of Latin, Central America and Western Europe. However, the details vary from region to region. For example, in the Caribbean, children instead of the question "Disgusting or sweet?" they ask the question “Where is my little skull?”, and the neighbors give them sweets made in the form of a sugar or chocolate human head.
Halloween games
Like any holiday that has an ancient background, Halloween has a number of characteristic games, rituals and fortune-telling. They are most widespread in Ireland and Scotland. So, girls in Scottish villages tell fortunes using the peel of an apple. To do this, they cut off the skin from a ripe fruit, while trying to keep the skin as long as possible. They then throw it over their left shoulder. On the skin that fell to the floor, you need to see the first letter of the groom's name.
Another divination game was common in England. Unmarried young ladies had to enter a house unlit by light with their backs forward and lead a burning candle in front of a mirror. It was believed that in this way they would be able to see the face of the betrothed. If a young girl sees a skull, then this means that she will remain unmarried until her death.
Halloween attractions
The organization of spooky rides and carousels, dubbed "ghost rides", is a staple of Halloween celebrations in the West as well. The first such entertainment was equipped in 1915.
In the United States, where such attractions are mainly spread, they are held every autumn. At the same time, the technical equipment of these peculiar frightening parks is constantly growing. Thick fog, ominous sounds and rustles, mysterious music, squeaks and special effects are used here for one purpose - to scare customers. Visiting "ghost attractions" is undesirable for pregnant women, children, people who are especially impressionable or with an unstable psyche.

In addition to seasonal theme parks, Halloween theme is widespread at Disneyland. This holiday is celebrated in all the parks of the Disney corporation, thematic attractions are set up, where the scenery changes every year.
Traditional holiday table
On Halloween, which in its origins has cooled down to the harvest festival, sweets are traditionally served from fruits, mainly apples. Apple caramel and sweet chocolate covered apples sprinkled with colorful confetti and nuts became the main delicacies of the holiday. You can either cook them at home or buy them at the Halloween market or in the park with scary rides.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a tradition in Great Britain to make sweets from apples and distribute them to children begging for sweets in their neighbors. But she quickly went out of use due to cases when evil townspeople stuffed such sweets with needles. In order not to avoid the occurrence of traumatic situations, the authorities banned the distribution of such delicacies.
Now in North America, special sweets are made for Halloween, called "candy corn" and "candy pumpkin". These are sweets in the form of a pumpkin or an ear of corn. Since the beginning of the century, the recipe has not changed much, as has the manual method of preparation. Sweets are prepared mainly from molasses, gelatin, sugar and natural juice.

In Ireland, a special bread is traditionally baked for Halloween, "barmbrek". This is a sweet bun with raisins, in which they hide various items- a ring, a coin, a pea, a piece of wood and a piece of matter. According to the item you got, you can find out your fate, so the ring means a quick wedding, a piece of wood - loneliness or divorce, a pea - celibacy, fabric - failure in money matters, and a coin - wealth. Now similar bread, cut into toast with butter, can be found throughout the United Kingdom. In its factory versions, objects denoting the future are made of plastic or edible material.
Halloween in Russia and the world
Initially, Halloween was celebrated only in countries that inherited the Celtic culture. Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales are the regions where this holiday was formed. Since the end of the nineteenth century, emigrants have spread the tradition of celebrating Halloween in the United States, where it has become especially widespread and has taken on its modern look. In the twentieth century, when boundaries have become a very elusive concept, this cheerful and bright holiday gradually began to spread throughout the world. Today, in addition to the countries of America and Europe, Halloween is popular in Asian countries.
The holiday came to Russia in the nineties and is still considered very exotic. For the Russians, Halloween is primarily an opportunity to have a fun carnival party, with the opportunity to dress up in costumes of mystical characters.

On the night of October 31 to November 1, Halloween is celebrated in the United States and Canada - an ancient Celtic holiday, also called All Saints' Eve. Over the past ten years, the holiday has also been in Russia and Europe.

At the beginning of our era, the Romans conquered the Celtic territory, bringing with them their traditions and holidays. So over the next centuries, the traditions of the Celtic holiday and two Latin holidays were mixed - Feralia (falling at the end of October; on this day the Romans commemorated the dead) and the day of Pomona, the goddess of tree fruits.

In 313, Christianity gains equality with paganism and soon becomes the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, and after its fall it gradually spreads throughout Europe. On May 13, 609 (according to other sources - 610) in Rome, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the former pagan temple Pantheon in honor of the Virgin and all the martyrs. This day began to be celebrated as the feast of All Saints. In the middle of the VIII century, Pope Gregory III consecrated on November 1 in honor of all saints one of the chapels of St. Peter's Cathedral and, in honor of this event, moved the date of the celebration of All Saints' Day to November 1. A century later, Pope Gregory IV made November 1 a common feast for the entire Catholic Church in honor of All Saints.

Initially, the holiday was called All Hallows Even, or All Hallows Eve (Mass of All Saints); later they began to call it Hallowe "en, and, in the end, Halloween. And although the church fought for a long time with the custom of frightening and appeasing evil spirits on this day, the pagan holiday not only survived, but also inextricably merged in the popular consciousness with the church holiday .

Halloween is most celebrated in the United States and Canada, where it is most popular. In the 19th century, a huge number of Irish people emigrated to the New World, bringing with them the traditions of Halloween. In the US, Halloween is the holiday with the most candy sales, and second only to Christmas in terms of total pre-holiday sales. It even has its own capitals - Los Angeles and New York, where the brightest and most colorful festivities and carnivals take place on this day.

Attributes of American Halloween: Jack-o-lanterns pumpkin lantern and candy begging - Trik or trak. The ancient rite Trik or trak ("Treat or be sorry") has become a favorite game of children, who dress up as monsters and go around the neighbor's houses, scaring adults, and those, in order to appease the "ghosts", pay off them with sweets.

Despite the fact that Americans have been celebrating Halloween for more than two centuries, the holiday is not official. However, this does not prevent the inhabitants of the New World from spending a lot of money every year on pumpkins, decorations, candles and greeting cards.

In Germany, Halloween is celebrated no less colorfully. Frankenstein Castle in Darmstadt (Hesse) attracts thousands of people dressed in monster costumes on the night of November 1, and locals believe that it is on this night that the ghost of the owner appears on the roof of the castle.

In France, the most impressive processions take place in the Disneyland suburb of Paris and in the city of Limoges, where more than 30,000 people come every year. It is there that the most memorable parades of goblins, vampires and ghosts take place, lighting their way with pumpkin lanterns.

In China, Halloween is known as Teng Chieh - the day of remembrance of the ancestors. On this day, in front of photographs of deceased relatives, the Chinese put food and water, as well as a lantern that illuminates the path for the souls of ancestors traveling on Halloween night.

In Russia, Halloween appeared quite recently and its popularity cannot yet be compared with the popularity of the American holiday, but it has already gained its traditions and its fans. There are many of them among the youth, noisily and cheerfully celebrating it in clubs and discos. Many club-type entertainment establishments prepare various Halloween‑parties for their guests on the last day of October.

According to a Levada Center survey conducted in October 2012, (64%) have an idea about Halloween, but do not celebrate it. According to the study, only 9% of Russians intended to celebrate Halloween, and 27% of respondents do not know anything about All Saints' Day.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Unusual, mystical and, perhaps, the most recognizable holiday in terms of paraphernalia is Halloween. It is quite popular in the USA, Great Britain and other English-speaking countries. It is celebrated in Australia, some countries of Asia, Oceania. In non-English-speaking Europe and in the post-Soviet space, Halloween gained popularity not so long ago, at the end of the last century. Back in the late 90s, few people knew what Halloween was. And today, for most people, this is just an excuse to have fun, dressing up in scary costumes and scaring each other.

Halloween: the history of the holiday, the emergence of the modern name

History of Halloween begins long before the advent of the era of Christianity, this holiday is very ancient, dating back to the traditions of the ancient Celts. In those days, the whole life of people was subject to the annual cycle, each of the turning points of which was marked by celebrations. The Samhain holiday was dedicated to the end of the harvest, the dying of nature, which fell asleep until the next spring. By this time, all field work was over, the harvest was harvested, and people had completely different concerns.

The very word "samhain" or "samhain" means, translated from the Old Irish language, "the end of summer", now in the Irish language this is the name of the month of November. The Celts celebrated Samhain around the same time, in late October - early November. For seven days, various rituals were carried out, the purpose of which was to adequately complete the past year and negotiate with higher powers, appease them for future harvests.

These rituals may seem strange to us, but in those days people were closer to nature, they did not see anything wrong with sacrifices to the gods. It must be said that the matter rarely came to human victims, but the animals were slaughtered with joy. The insides hung them on trees (from this tradition came the modern new year custom decorate the Christmas tree). In addition, the Celts brought fire from sacred bonfires into the house, having previously extinguished the old hearth, which also marked the onset of the new year. There was also a tradition of dressing up in animal skins, which today has evolved into a tradition of dressing up as various movie and book characters.

With the advent of Christianity in Europe, Samhain eventually merged with a religious holiday - the day of veneration of all saints (they are honored on November 1). This is a fairly common occurrence and has happened to some others as well. pagan holidays. After all, not everyone accepted the Christian religion, the pagans continued to secretly perform their rituals and worship their gods. Gradually, in the minds of the people, both holidays merged into one. It happened when Pope Gregory III moved All Saints' Day on November 1st. The traditions of Samhain, ingrained in the people's memory, gradually intertwined with the Catholic day of honoring the saints. So there was a tradition to celebrate one of the most fun, despite the gloomy paraphernalia, modern holidays.

The name Samhain finally sank into oblivion quite a long time ago, in the 16th century. The word Halloween comes from the phrase "all hallows even" - "the evening of all saints", which quickly transformed into an abbreviated version of the sound. So then they called the time on the eve of the holiday - All Saints' Day.

Today, Halloween, although the history of the holiday is due to cyclic annual changes, is firmly connected in the minds of people with the afterlife and evil spirits, which can freely enter our world this evening and do their dark deeds. There is no documentary or other evidence that the Celts, or rather their priests, the Druids, saw in Samhain the worship of dead ancestors or associated it with the appearance of unclean spirits on earth. Most likely, for the ancients it was just a seasonal holiday associated with the end of the year and agricultural work.

Today it is established that the modern understanding of the holiday appeared around the 10th-11th centuries, thanks to the gloomy Christian monks. Since then, in Scotland and Ireland, it has been customary to tell various scary stories, legends about ancestors, and perform rites of honoring the dead on the night of November 1.

Modern traditions and symbols of the holiday appeared gradually. For example, people started going from house to house and entertaining neighbors for refreshments as early as the 16th century. They were a little outrageous and tried to scare the owners by wearing masks. The tradition of dressing up in costumes and carrying a luminous gourd (Jack-o'-lantern) with you developed at the end of the 19th century.

Holiday symbols

Halloween is recognizable and loved in many countries by paraphernalia and traditions. They appeared gradually, not immediately, but today the celebration of the darkest and most mystical day of the year cannot be imagined without mysterious pumpkin lamps, terrible costumes of all kinds of evil spirits, and the tradition of begging for sweets from neighbors.

The most common holiday celebration in North America. Here people prepare in advance for Halloween, send greetings, decorate houses, workers and public places suitable attributes. They stock up on various sweets and small coins in advance to treat children.

The most recognizable symbol of Halloween is a carved pumpkin with a light burning inside, the so-called Jack's lamp. Initially, lanterns were made from various root crops: turnip, turnip, swede. The inner part of the vegetable was removed, a scary face was carved on the outer surface, and a burning candle was placed inside. Such lamps were placed in windows and near doorways in order to protect against evil forces that could penetrate our world that night and harm people. This custom is also associated with the beliefs of the ancient Celts, who used vegetables in various rituals, carving a schematic image of a face on them.

When the descendants of the Celts moved across the ocean, more affordable pumpkins began to be used to make Halloween lamps. Tradition carve on this vegetable various figures existed in America for a long time, and was also associated with the end of agricultural work. In the middle of the 19th century, customs merged, and the Jack-O-Lantern was already strongly associated with Halloween.

halloween traditions

The custom of covering the face with a mask and dressing up in appropriate costumes for the occasion appeared relatively recently, a little over a century ago. According to documentary evidence, it originally appeared in Scotland, from where it quickly spread to Ireland, England, the USA and Canada.

The first carnival costumes and Halloween masks were rather gloomy. Most often, they did not please at all, but frightened people, to whom the mummers knocked on the door. However, at the end of the 20th century, Halloween began to dress up brightly, in recognizable characters - Dracula, evil witches, Frankenstein, Freddy Krueger and others. Today, the choice is even wider: people dress up as pop stars, medieval kings and queens, fairies, elves. In this case, everyone relies on their imagination and financial capabilities. By the way, selling attributes and costumes for Halloween is an extremely profitable business. In the US, for example, people spend billions of dollars to acquire all these symbols.

The custom, called in the English-speaking world "trick or treat", is also traditional. This phrase means "a joke or a treat", loosely translated it sounds like "trick or treat". Children, dressed up in costumes and masks, knock on neighbors' houses, jokingly threatening to harm the inhabitants if they do not pay off. The owners, on this occasion, stock up on cakes, sweets and small money. This tradition has its origins in the custom of giving to the poor at Christmas and other church holidays including All Saints Day. Today, it's just an excuse for kids to get treats and some money in return for entertaining adults. We also have such a custom at Christmas and are called carols.

Since all evil spirits crawl out of the underworld on Halloween, on this night you can quite successfully ask the spirits to open the veil over the future. Therefore, girls traditionally guess on this holiday. There are various ways of divination, this custom also dates back to ancient times, when the priests judged the future harvest by some signs.

Fortune telling, as a rule, is the prerogative of young girls who want to know about their betrothed at all times. In Scotland, for example, it is customary to cut the skin off an apple in the form of long chips, and then throw it over the shoulder. According to the pattern in which the chips were folded, they judged the future groom, most often they tried to discern the first letter of his name in the pattern. Divination by mirror is also widespread throughout the world. To do this, a fortune-telling girl on a dark night rose with a candle into a dark room, while moving backwards, and then peered into the reflection, trying to see her future husband and the events of her life. The girls could see anything in the reflection, not only the betrothed. It was believed that if a skull or death with a scythe appears, this means a quick death in girls.

Celebration in Russia and in the world

In America, special attractions are prepared especially for Halloween. These are haunted houses where every visitor can get scared out of their wits for their own money. Disney parks also host various themed events dedicated to this fun holiday. In France, Disneyland hosts a parade in which people dressed in carnival costumes pass, sing songs, wave Jack-o'-lanterns, and treat themselves to traditional Halloween treats along the way. Large-scale processions are also held in Japan.

In neighboring Germany, there is a special place for those who like to celebrate this holiday on a grand scale - the house of Frankenstein. It is located near Darmstadt, and since the 70s of the 20th century Germany's largest Halloween festival has been held here.

In Ireland, grandiose pyrotechnic shows are arranged on Halloween, reminding the descendants of the Celts about the fires of Samhain. There is no such custom in neighboring Scotland.

In Russia, this holiday has also taken root, although not everyone likes it. The Russian Orthodox Church opposes the pagan bacchanalia with disguises, believing that Halloween traditions teach people to negotiate with evil, to enter into any relationship with it. Do not approve of this holiday and the religious elite of Russian Muslims. Despite this, young people are very loyal to Halloween, preferring to have fun that night in clubs or arranging theme parties Houses.

Treats

In Russia, any holiday is unthinkable without a plentiful feast. There are also culinary traditions for Halloween. Since the holiday was originally dedicated to the end of the harvest, the traditional sweet treats for Halloween are sweets made from apples. In the US, pumpkin or corn candies are popular.

In the Celtic territories, in Ireland and Scotland, it is customary to prepare special bread with "surprises". During the manufacture, various objects were laid in it, symbolizing a possible future. If a person came across a coin in a piece of bread, he should have expected wealth, a ring - for an imminent wedding, a sliver - for some troubles in life.

Halloween is the most recognizable and beloved holiday in many countries around the world. It is celebrated as Samhain by neo-pagans, adherents of Wicca magic. Films, books, musical works are dedicated to this holiday. In Russia, he took root and fell in love with many, probably as an occasion to once again have fun in our difficult time.

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