Hundreds
of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern
France, lived the Celts. The Celts worshiped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favorite. It was "he" who commanded their work and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow.
The
Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was
celebrated every year with a festival and marked the end of the "season of the sun" and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold." The Celts believed, that during the winter, the sun god was taken prisoner by Samhain, the Lord of the Dead and Prince of Darkness.
On
the eve before their new year (October 31), it was believed
that Samhain called together all the dead people. The dead would take different forms, with the bad spirits taking the form of animals. The most evil taking the form of cats.
On
October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored
for the long winter the cooking fires in the homes would be extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, would meet in the hilltop in the dark oak forest (oak trees were considered sacred). The Druids would light new fires and offer sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the the fires, the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.
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. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.
The
Halloween we celebrate today includes many influences,
Pomona Day's apples, nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Samhain's black cats, magic, evil spirits and death, and the ghosts, skeletons and skulls from All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day.
And
Witches....and so it began, and so it continues.
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Halloween FantasyWorld
Copyright 2001-2025 LazsRealm.
Copyright 2001-2025 LazsRealm.