Halloween or Halloween (Quebec and New Brunswick use) is a traditional folk and pagan festival from the Anglo-Celtic Islands celebrated on the evening of October 31, the eve of the Christian holiday of All Saints. His name is a contraction of the English All Hallows-Even which means the eve of All Hallows' Day in contemporary English and can be translated as "the day before all the saints" or "the vigil of All Saints".
Despite its Christian and English origin, the vast majority of sources [ref. wished] to present Halloween as a legacy of Samain's pagan festival, which was celebrated early in the autumn by the Celts and was a kind of New Year's party for them. Halloween is known today as Oíche Shamhna in Gaelic. It is a very popular holiday in Ireland, Scotland and Wales where there are many historical records of its existence. Jack-o'-lantern, the iconic halloween lantern, is itself from an Irish legend.
It was from the 8th century, under Pope Gregory III (731-741) and, in the following century, under Pope Gregory IV (827-844), that the Catholic Church moved the Feast of All Saints, which could to celebrate until then after Easter or after Pentecost, on November 1st, christianizing the feast of Samain.
The Halloween party is introduced in the United States and Canada after the massive arrival of Irish and Scottish emigrants, notably following the Great Famine in Ireland (1845-1851). It gained popularity in the 1920s and it is on the new continent that appear lanterns Jack-o'-lanterns made from pumpkins, of local origin, replacing the turnips used in Europe.
Halloween is today celebrated primarily in Ireland, Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, to a lesser extent, many other countries. The best-known modern tradition is for kids to dress up in frightening costumes like ghosts, witches, monsters or vampires and go door-to-door asking for treats with the formula: Trick or treat! which means "sweets or a spell! The evening can also be marked by bonfires, fireworks, children's games, reading horror tales or Halloween poems, the broadcast of horror films but also the holding of early Masses of All Saints in its strictly religious component
Despite its Christian and English origin, the vast majority of sources [ref. wished] to present Halloween as a legacy of Samain's pagan festival, which was celebrated early in the autumn by the Celts and was a kind of New Year's party for them. Halloween is known today as Oíche Shamhna in Gaelic. It is a very popular holiday in Ireland, Scotland and Wales where there are many historical records of its existence. Jack-o'-lantern, the iconic halloween lantern, is itself from an Irish legend.
It was from the 8th century, under Pope Gregory III (731-741) and, in the following century, under Pope Gregory IV (827-844), that the Catholic Church moved the Feast of All Saints, which could to celebrate until then after Easter or after Pentecost, on November 1st, christianizing the feast of Samain.
The Halloween party is introduced in the United States and Canada after the massive arrival of Irish and Scottish emigrants, notably following the Great Famine in Ireland (1845-1851). It gained popularity in the 1920s and it is on the new continent that appear lanterns Jack-o'-lanterns made from pumpkins, of local origin, replacing the turnips used in Europe.
Halloween is today celebrated primarily in Ireland, Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, to a lesser extent, many other countries. The best-known modern tradition is for kids to dress up in frightening costumes like ghosts, witches, monsters or vampires and go door-to-door asking for treats with the formula: Trick or treat! which means "sweets or a spell! The evening can also be marked by bonfires, fireworks, children's games, reading horror tales or Halloween poems, the broadcast of horror films but also the holding of early Masses of All Saints in its strictly religious component
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