Dr Dodiddily and the Dee-Dot's : Blog: "Mon, 04 Oct 2010
All Hallow Eve, or as my Mum used to say. Time to get out the broom-stick Diddily and find your Cauldron. She was a terror my mum.
Dr Dodiddily and the Dee Dot's share All Hallows with you...
Halloween is an annual holiday observed on October 31.
It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain.
Halloween origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. (pronounced 'Sow-in' in Ireland, Sow-een in Wales, 'Sav-en' in Scotland or even 'Sam-haine' in non Gaelic speaking countries) and Brigid's Day 'the period of little sun.' Thus, Samhain is often named the 'Last Harvest' or 'Summer's End'. The Earth nods a sad farewell to the God.
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1st.
This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31st, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
Massacre of the Druids on Angelsey. R. I. P. Wales UK.In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the other worldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.Feralia
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead.
The Goddess Pomona
Was a goddess that was considered to have a connection to the 'forbidden fruit.' Pomona was the goddess of fruit trees, garden, and orchards. She was a goddess in Roman mythology. William Morris in his many Classic writings left this wee Lyric behind.
Pomona
I am the Ancient Apple Queen,
As once I was so am I now.
For ever more a hope unseen,
Betwix the blossom and the bow.
Ah, where's the river's hidden Gold!
And where's the windy grave of Troy!
Yet come I as I came of old,
From out the heart of summer's joy.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1st All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs.
It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2nd All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.
Thanks to the Halloween Webring and Grannulus' Grove: The Goddess Pomona, and several bits off Wiki xx.
Who helped me grately in putting together a little that covered a lot.
Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales.
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