Halloween
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Halloween Hallowe'en |
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|---|---|
 Jack-o'-lantern |
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| Also called | All Hallows Eve All Saints' Eve Samhain Hallowed End |
| Observed by | Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, Bahamas, United States, sometimes Australia, Sweden, and many Latin American countries where it is known as Noche de las Brujas (Night of the Witches)[1] |
| Type | Religious, cultural (celebrated mostly irrespective of religion) |
| Significance | There are many sources of Halloween's significance |
| Date | October 31 |
| Celebrations | Trick-or-treating, ghost tours, apple bobbing, costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, and fireworks (in Ireland) |
Halloween is a holiday in many English speaking countries that is celebrated on the night of October 31st. Children wear costumes and they go to people's homes saying "Trick or treat!" to ask for candy and then the people give it to them. This comes from a threat. It means, "Give me a treat or I will play a trick on you." Children today usually do not do the tricks if they do not get treats. But some children still do mischief (pranks or things to make fun of people like putting toilet paper in trees or writing with soap on windows or throwing eggs at their house). People sometimes dress up as ghosts, witches, goblins, and other scary things for Halloween.
[change] Origins
The word Halloween is from Hallowe'en. This is a contraction of All Hallow's Eve. All Hallow's Eve is the day before the Catholic holiday All Saints holy day. All Saints holy day was once called All Hallows. This was short for All Hallowed Souls. Hallowed means holy.
This holiday All Saints holy day was made by Christian missionaries. It was the same day as a Pagan holiday called Samhain. The missionaries came to areas where Pagans lived. They tried to make the Pagans believe in Christianity. So they made some Pagan holidays into Christian holidays.
The Pagan holiday that All Saints holy day replaced, Samhain, was called the Day of the Dead. Many Wiccans and modern Pagans celebrate the Day of the Dead. This is a happy holiday (even though it says 'Dead'). It is the day that the souls of dead people come back to Earth. So in Pagan religions it is not about scary things. It is about being with (remembering) family or friends who have died.
Many Lutheran churches celebrate a holiday on October 31st called The Reformation. This holiday celebrates when Martin Luther put some arguments on a church door.
