Halloween History

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 http://www.history.com/video.do?name=halloween
 The History of Halloween
 The word “Halloween” comes from All
Hallows Eve, which occurs on November 1.
The "All Hollows Day" or "All Saints Day". It
is an important date on the Catholic calendar, a
time to observe and honor saints.
 People believed that the souls of the dead
come back to earth to visit their families or
friends.
 History Ctd…
 The tradition of dressing in costumes was
started by the Celts of Ireland. They believed
that everyone who died throughout the year
would come back on October 31, the end of
the Celtic summer, to possess the bodies of the
living.
 The costumes and noisy parades were meant to
frighten away these spirits.
 Trick-or-Treating
 This tradition is thought to have started in 9 th century
Europe. It was a custom on All Souls Day (Nov. 2)
for early Christians to walk from village to village
begging for “soul cakes”, which were made of square
pieces of bread with currants (berries).
 The more cakes the beggars received, the more
prayers they promised to say for the dead relatives of
the cake donors. People thought prayers would help
souls get to heaven more quickly.
 Jack O’Lantern’s Story
 The Jack O’Lantern is named after an
Irishman who was named Jack. Jack was a
notorious drunkard and trickster. One day he
tricked Satan into climbing a tree. He trapped
Satan in the tree by carving a Holy Cross into
the trunk.
 Jack made a deal with the devil that he would
let him down, if the devil promised never to
tempt him again.
 Jack O’Lantern Ctd…
 Because of Jack’s evil ways, he was not allowed into
heaven when he died. The devil would not let him
into hell, but gave Jack a single candle to light his
way through the darkness. The flame was put inside a
hollowed out turnip to keep it glowing.
 Turnips were used in Ireland instead of pumpkins.
Immigrants to America found pumpkins more
plentiful, so the turnip was replaced by the pumpkin.
Happy Halloween!!