A Brief History Of Halloween

Celtics

Halloween was originally started by the Celtic's of Ireland over 3000 years ago and called, Sauwin. They did pagan rituals and even sacrifices to please the God's. They celebrated this ritual after the crops had been harvested. It was a way to please the God's and to bring back the long sunny days the next year.

Roman's

The Romans also had a ritual similar to the Celtic's and it was called, Pomona. It was a day that was a festival to worship their goddess Pomona. This festival took place around The first day of November every year. The Romans invaded and conquered the territory that was also celebrating Sauwin. These two traditions then started to merge and become one holiday.

Catholic

In the eight century the Catholic Pope Gregory III decided to make the pagan holiday on November 1st a Catholic holiday. It was designated as All Saints Day
for all the saints that did not have a day of their own. This is also known as All Hallows Day which eventually was shortened and became Halloween.

Martin Luther

In the early 1500's Martin Luther created a doctrine for the protestants. It rejected all symbols and symbolism that was related to God. Which also meant that the beliefs in, All Saint's Day was also rejected by protestants.

Virginia

In the early 1600's in America many colonists were defying the ways of pagan rituals, and Catholic beliefs but the, Colony of Virginia did just the opposite. In the early years the, Colony of Virginia is where Halloween really got it's start in America. There they believed in witchcraft and that there was a spirit world. They began celebrating it even though others were completely against the rituals and beliefs.

As Halloween night starts to come closer we need to keep in mind safety. Make sure that children are not unattended when they are, trick or treating. Also be aware of what they are getting for treats from the people in the houses that are visiting. Finally make sure to check over all the fruit and candy for anything unusual and dispose of things that do not look right. Have an enjoyable Halloween night and a safe one.