para saber...

... a propósito do Hallowen

Evolving from the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), modern Halloween has become less about ghosts, ghouls and witches and more about costumes, candy and treats.

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of the year that was often associated with human death…

On the night of October 31, it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to the earth. The Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred…living and dead, summer and winter … unearthly  spirits would not only haunt the living but also cause trouble and damage crops.

Between fall and winter, plenty and scarcity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to scare off roaming ghosts and black-hearted witches.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honour all saints and martyrs, the holiday known as All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. Therefore the evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and overtime as Halloween.

Throughout the centuries, Halloween transitioned into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating and fun costume parties and outings.  Over the millennia the festivity evolved from a sombre pagan ritual to a day of cheerfulness, costumes, parades and sweet treats for both children and adults.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Ilda Camarneira

Lista de referências bibliográficas:

História.  (s/d). ANCIENT ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN. Disponível em http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

BBC News. (2014, outubro  23). Halloween: England's strange and ancient winter rituals. Disponível  em http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/celebrating-the-traditions-of-halloween/7944.html