Halloween is a holiday celebrated all over the world on the 31st of October, despite not having the same name everywhere. In the United States it is called Halloween, in Brazil it is called Halloween and in several places around the world it is known as the Day of the Dead.
Without a doubt, it has become a tradition, capable of influencing pop culture as well as Christmas, for example. Halloween specials are found in series, cartoons, horror-themed movies, exclusive in-game events, and so on. However, halloween has not always been that way since its origins, it has changed a lot over the years.
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The Origin of Halloween
Halloween, or Halloween, is not something recent like most of the holidays today, as it is a tradition with origins more than 3 thousand years ago, with the Celtic peoples. In the beginning it was very different from what it is today, including in its name.
Instead of Halloween, the festival's original name was Samhain, lasting 3 days. In addition to celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, the Celtic New Year was also celebrated, which begins on the first of November. During this festivity, the King of the Dead was also honored.
As the Celts believed that during this time the dead rose from their graves, and took the bodies of the living. There arose the tradition of costumes, because they dressed up in order to look like dead, to defend themselves, and to join in the fun.
In the Middle Ages
The church decided to create a commemorative date close to the day of Samhain. To this end, by moving All Saints' Day to November 1st, after such a change the festival's popularity spread to the world. But not only spread the holiday around the world due to its proximity, and also a link with the day of all saints, this maneuver of the church is also responsible for the current name of the event.
How Halloween is celebrated on the 31st, before All Saints' Day.
The Modern Halloween
Although the event already existed and had strength, it was still not exactly the event as we know it today. Even with its origin not being linked to the United States as some people might believe it to be, they have great reason to believe it. This is because the United States is responsible for transforming the holiday into the great party it is today.
The arrival of the commemoration in the country took place with the arrival of thousands of Irish people, in 1845, a period when Ireland was going through a great crisis. These Irish were responsible for bringing this tradition to the country, which a few years later was already starting to gain strength in the celebration with some changes. Time where also some of the main symbols of the tradition as it is known today began to emerge.
Most of these symbols are adaptations of the original traditions, among them, for example, times.
pumpkins
Originally, one of the symbols of Halloween regarding decoration was not pumpkins, this is a modification made by the Americans. For decoration, radishes were used, which were carved. However, in the United States it was adapted for Pumpkins, due to the greater abundance of the vegetable in the country, and the size that made it easier to carve. From there, the biggest symbol of Halloween appeared, the Pumpkin lanterns, and also its colors (Orange and Black).
Candy
Another modification of the festival traditions made by the Americans concerns the food of the festival. Traditionally, cabbages were used in Europe, but due to the scarcity of food at that time, and also the price of food (Halloween was also a festival to celebrate the abundance of harvests, that is, there was food in abundance), it was replaced by sweets, since that it was easier to access, and cheaper.
Costumes
Virtually every costume that might come to your mind right now as you think of Halloween isn't part of the original tradition either. Witches, vampires, skeletons... but not only the costumes, but also decorations, with spider webs and bats. They all come from the United States, so whenever we talk about Halloween, he's the one that comes to mind, because he's responsible for transforming Halloween into what we know today. And also for having spread it so much around the world, through films, series, etc.
Anyway, what did you think about the origin of Halloween? Did you know her, only parts, did you think her origin had been in the United States? Comment, and be sure to share with your friends so they too know the origin of Halloween!
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