ALL CLASSES: HALLOWEEN
If you are interested, you can find more information about Halloween right here:
http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/
A very brief history of Halloween:
The celebration of Halloween that falls on October 31st was brought to North America in the 1840’s by Irish Immigrants who were fleeing their country’s potato famine. What is Halloween a celebration of, what are its origins?
The world Halloween comes from “All Hallows Eve” or the Evening of all Saints, a Catholic religious holiday. Halloween combines pagan, Roman and Christian traditions and it was first celebrated among ancient Celtic people in Ireland. The Celtic New Year began on November 1st. It was believed that on the last day of the old year, October 31st, spirits of people who had died in that year came back to Earth looking for bodies to reposses. In order to scare these spirits away, ancient Celts wore scary costumes and made a lot of noise. When the Romans came, they combined this ritual with their celebration of Pomona, the goddess of fruit whose symbol was apple. That’s why perhaps today we still perform “bobbing for apples” on Halloween. The custom of trick-or-treating originates from an old European practice called “souling.” Souling was actually begging for ‘soul cookies’ made of flour and currants. Poor people would go to rich people’s houses, and in return for soul cookies they would promise to pray for the souls of rich people’s relatives who had died so that they could leave the limbo and enter Heaven.
Pumpkin carving, or making a Jack O’ Lantern originates from an Irish legend about Jack, a lazy trickster and gambler who was not admitted in either Heaven or Hell. God didn’t want him in heaven because he was selfish, never did anything for anyone else but himself; the Satan didn’t want him either because once Jack had chased him up a tree and let him stay there for a long time engraving the sign of the cross in the tree bark. Poor Jack was sentenced to eternally roam the empty cold dark space between Heaven and Hell. To help him see a bit better, Satan gave him an ember placed inside a pumpkin.
A longer history of Halloween
History Channel Video: The History of Halloween (Script)
link:
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Video_Clips&content_type_id=1297&display_order=2&mini_id=1076
If graveyards make you nervous and Jack O’lanterns leer from every window , if the streets are full of monsters, just relax: it’s all part of the fun. Trick, treat or a little of each? Let’s turn on all the lights and take a look at Halloween.
Ages ago when history was short and winters were dark, tribes of Celtic farmers believed that there was one day a year when the Season of Life meets the Season of Death, when malevolent spirits could rise from their graves and walk amongst the living. It was Celtic Ireland B.C. That day was called Sauhin, the Celtic word for ‘summer’s end.’
On a day when so many spirits lurked, Druid priest tried to foretell whether their villages would survive the winter. Ordinary Celts built big bonfires and disguised themselves to repel and confuse the spirits.
In the 8th century, in the likely attempt to distract the Celts from their pagan practice, Pope Gregory established All Hallow’ Day, a day honouring all saints, known and unknown, on Nov. 1st.
Europeans accepted the new holiday but saw no reason not to enjoy their traditional ritualsas well, and soon Sauhin became known as All Hallows Eve. From there it was a short walk to the name we all know today: Halloween.
Predictably such a heathen tradition was of no interest to American first settlers, the Puritans, and so it, like Europe was left behind. Until the mid 19th century when the Potato Famine drove over a million of starving Irish and their folklore across the Atlantic and into America’s port cities. An ocean from home and immersed into cultural melting pot their traditions begin to change. The roaring bonfires shrank to lanterns carved from gourds, the first Jack O’lanterns, and the Celts demonic disguises became the sinister costumes of modern day Halloween.
The origins of trick o’treating remain unclear. It is believed to have extended from a custom names ‘souling” in which the poor went from home to home and prayed for the souls of each family’s dead in exchange for small cakes to eat.
By the early part of the 20th century Halloween was gaining a foothold as an American institution. Mass produced Halloween costumes became commonplace, making Halloween one of the most profitable holidays on the calendar, earning retailers billions of dollars.
Halloween’s appeal transcends age, delighting children and yes, even adults alike.
It’s a day to step into the costume, gorge on sweets, throw on a ghoulish garb, and scare ourselves silly.
The truth is frightfully clear: not even a silver bullet could stop Halloween now.
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Video_Clips&content_type_id=1297&display_order=2&mini_id=1076
http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/
A very brief history of Halloween:
The celebration of Halloween that falls on October 31st was brought to North America in the 1840’s by Irish Immigrants who were fleeing their country’s potato famine. What is Halloween a celebration of, what are its origins?
The world Halloween comes from “All Hallows Eve” or the Evening of all Saints, a Catholic religious holiday. Halloween combines pagan, Roman and Christian traditions and it was first celebrated among ancient Celtic people in Ireland. The Celtic New Year began on November 1st. It was believed that on the last day of the old year, October 31st, spirits of people who had died in that year came back to Earth looking for bodies to reposses. In order to scare these spirits away, ancient Celts wore scary costumes and made a lot of noise. When the Romans came, they combined this ritual with their celebration of Pomona, the goddess of fruit whose symbol was apple. That’s why perhaps today we still perform “bobbing for apples” on Halloween. The custom of trick-or-treating originates from an old European practice called “souling.” Souling was actually begging for ‘soul cookies’ made of flour and currants. Poor people would go to rich people’s houses, and in return for soul cookies they would promise to pray for the souls of rich people’s relatives who had died so that they could leave the limbo and enter Heaven.
Pumpkin carving, or making a Jack O’ Lantern originates from an Irish legend about Jack, a lazy trickster and gambler who was not admitted in either Heaven or Hell. God didn’t want him in heaven because he was selfish, never did anything for anyone else but himself; the Satan didn’t want him either because once Jack had chased him up a tree and let him stay there for a long time engraving the sign of the cross in the tree bark. Poor Jack was sentenced to eternally roam the empty cold dark space between Heaven and Hell. To help him see a bit better, Satan gave him an ember placed inside a pumpkin.
A longer history of Halloween
History Channel Video: The History of Halloween (Script)
link:
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Video_Clips&content_type_id=1297&display_order=2&mini_id=1076
If graveyards make you nervous and Jack O’lanterns leer from every window , if the streets are full of monsters, just relax: it’s all part of the fun. Trick, treat or a little of each? Let’s turn on all the lights and take a look at Halloween.
Ages ago when history was short and winters were dark, tribes of Celtic farmers believed that there was one day a year when the Season of Life meets the Season of Death, when malevolent spirits could rise from their graves and walk amongst the living. It was Celtic Ireland B.C. That day was called Sauhin, the Celtic word for ‘summer’s end.’
On a day when so many spirits lurked, Druid priest tried to foretell whether their villages would survive the winter. Ordinary Celts built big bonfires and disguised themselves to repel and confuse the spirits.
In the 8th century, in the likely attempt to distract the Celts from their pagan practice, Pope Gregory established All Hallow’ Day, a day honouring all saints, known and unknown, on Nov. 1st.
Europeans accepted the new holiday but saw no reason not to enjoy their traditional ritualsas well, and soon Sauhin became known as All Hallows Eve. From there it was a short walk to the name we all know today: Halloween.
Predictably such a heathen tradition was of no interest to American first settlers, the Puritans, and so it, like Europe was left behind. Until the mid 19th century when the Potato Famine drove over a million of starving Irish and their folklore across the Atlantic and into America’s port cities. An ocean from home and immersed into cultural melting pot their traditions begin to change. The roaring bonfires shrank to lanterns carved from gourds, the first Jack O’lanterns, and the Celts demonic disguises became the sinister costumes of modern day Halloween.
The origins of trick o’treating remain unclear. It is believed to have extended from a custom names ‘souling” in which the poor went from home to home and prayed for the souls of each family’s dead in exchange for small cakes to eat.
By the early part of the 20th century Halloween was gaining a foothold as an American institution. Mass produced Halloween costumes became commonplace, making Halloween one of the most profitable holidays on the calendar, earning retailers billions of dollars.
Halloween’s appeal transcends age, delighting children and yes, even adults alike.
It’s a day to step into the costume, gorge on sweets, throw on a ghoulish garb, and scare ourselves silly.
The truth is frightfully clear: not even a silver bullet could stop Halloween now.
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Video_Clips&content_type_id=1297&display_order=2&mini_id=1076
posted by Magistra @ 7:36 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
"Trick-or-treat"
Now I am saying, Prof. Bianca
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