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The History of Halloween

On October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day or just Halloween is celebrated.

The tradition of Halloween began in the fifth century B.C. by the Irish Celts, who organized their year according to the agricultural calendar and marked the transition from one year to the next on October 31.

The Celts, ancient inhabitants of Great Britain, celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival that marked the end of the «season of the sun» and the beginning of «the season of darkness and cold.

On the eve before their new year, October 31, it was believed that Samhain, who was the Lord of the Death and Prince of Darkness, called together all the dead people. The Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred on this night.

On October 31st, the Druids, who were the priests and teachers of the Celts, would meet in the hilltop in the dark oak forest. They considered oak trees to be sacred. The Druids would light fires and offer sacrifices of crops, animals and possibly even human beings. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining the remains of the animals that had been sacrificed.

When the morning arrived, the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family who would then take them home to start new cooking fires at home. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.

The story tells us that during the transition, spirits return to earth, looking for living bodies to possess for the following year. The Celts dress up in ghoulish costumes and parade around to frighten them away.

In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honour all the saints. This day is called All Saint's Day. It used to be also known as Hallowmas. Gradually, over the years, October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow's Eve, and then Halloween as we know it today.

It was thought that even strangers could help a soul's passage to heaven by saying prayers.

Там же есть и перевод на русский язык.

http://www.learnenglishbest.com/the-history-of-halloween.html