It’s October again. The 31st is Halloween.
His Story
The origins of Halloween go back to Roman times, when the Romans occupied a large part of the British Isles. Over time, the celebration of the Roman Pomona(wd), the goddess of fruit trees and gardens, was merged into the Halloween holiday; the Parentalia, a day to honor the dead; the festival of Lemuralia, which in Roman religion was a festival during which the ancient Romans performed exorcism rites to expel the malevolent and terrifying spirits of the dead from their houses; and the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain, which was held on October 31, and which they also considered the last day of the old year. According to the beliefs of the Druids, the spirits, especially the evil ones, visit the living people from the underworld at this time, and the souls of those who died during the year pass into the afterlife on this night. It also includes the opening of the so-called fairy hills, during which mythical creatures flood the world of people, not all of whom are benevolent. During the Roman conquests, Gaul was integrated into the Roman Empire, so the elements of the celebrations of the Celtic culture began to merge with the traditions of the Roman holidays. Among the pagan Celtic traditions was the autumn festival of Samhain, which was organized in honor of the Celtic sun god. At that time, the Celts living in what is now Great Britain, Ireland and Northern France celebrated the Celtic New Year, which fell on the night of October 31, and thanked the sun god for making the land and crops rich.
It was believed that on this night the souls of those who had died in the past year could disturb the lives of the living, as souls migrate to the realm of the dead on this night. People sacrificed food and animals to the spirits to facilitate their migration. With the spread of Christianity, the night of the pagan Celtic holiday, later called Halloween, marked the beginning of the winter darkness, this was the Celtic New Year. October 31st, the day of samhain, called the spirits together, who appeared in different forms and took on the figures of evil spirits and malicious animals. The Celtic priests gathered on a mountaintop under the sacred oak, lit a fire and offered sacrifices of crops and animals, then danced around the fire. Each family was given some of these embers in the morning to light new fires, which would ward off evil spirits and keep homes warm.
People put on animal skins and held a three-day festival. This was the ancient holiday, whose pagan customs were then mixed with other holidays. When the Romans occupied the Celtic lands, they also kept their own customs. Although it differed in time, several similar Roman holidays were mixed with the celebration of the Celtic death cult, so that in its current state, this pagan holiday known as authentic also contains Mediterranean elements. The Roman Feralia is one of the largest series of spring celebrations, the Memorial Day of the Dead (hence the ritual of remembering the dead), which was held between February 13 and 21, according to the calendar of the time. The Feralia holiday was followed on February 22 by the Caristia, which was one of the fun holidays of ancient Rome, when the inhabitants of the empire paid special attention to their family members and dissolved the gloom of the Feralia with cheerfulness. The head of the family made a sacrifice to Lares, the deity who protects the home and protects families, and through him also the spirits of the ancestors, as a sign of gratitude for having protected them throughout the year, and they could be part of that day’s festive meals. The other similar Roman holiday was Pomona Day: the feast day of Pomona, the divine spirit responsible for fruit production, the goddess of fruit trees and gardens, Numen, which fell on November 1.
Source: Wikipedia