November 2nd is also celebrated as All Souls’ Day mainly to honor the saints and pray for the lives of the recently departed who have not reached heaven yet. Pope Bonafice IV established the Catholic feast of All Martyrs’ Day in honor of the early Roman martyrs, and this feast was later expanded by Pope Gregory III to include all saints and is still practiced today on November 1st as All Saints’ Day (known also as Hallowtide or All Hallows). During the next 400 years, Samhain was merged with two Roman holidays: Feralia, a day when Romans commemorated their dead, typically at the end of October, and secondly Pomona, a day of honoring the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. 43 the Romans had successfully conquered most of the Celtic lands. If they went out at night they wore costumes so that if they encountered an evil spirit they would be mistaken for an evil spirit themselves and thus be protected from evil and trouble. To ward off evil spirits from their households, the Celts were known to set carved pumpkins (or turnips) in front of their doors. They also set treats outside their house for the wandering spirits. The Celts, hoping for a visit from their departed loved ones, would set a place at the table for them and prepare a feast. It is also believed that on the eve of Samhain the line between the living and the dead became thin and the spirits of the Otherworld were allowed to roam the earth during this day, both spirits of departed loved ones during the previous year as well as evil spirits of ghouls and fairies looking to cause mischief and damage. It was widely believed that on this night young women especially can find whether they might marry in the coming year and even the identity of their future spouse. This was viewed as a very spiritual time and divination was practiced especially in the form of fortune-telling. Some have speculated that there were also human sacrifices at these bonfires, but modern scholars believe this not to be the case. The Celtic priests, called Druids, made large bonfires on hilltops around which the people gathered and offered sacrifices of crops and animals to the Celtic gods as a thanksgiving offering for that years’ crops and as an appeal for favor in the new coming year. For the Celts who celebrated their new year on November 1st, the day marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, the end of light and the beginning of darkness, the end of life and the beginning of death. Halloween’s origin can be found in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced saw-en, meaning ‘end of summer’). What is the Origin & History of Halloween? Widely geared toward young children who enjoy wearing costumes, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin carving, Halloween has become the second-largest commercially celebrated holiday in America grossing over $8 billion in sales. On October 31st each year people across the United States celebrate Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve. Halloween: The Meaning, History, and Christian Response
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