Halloween, also considered “Day of the dead” derived from the Druids in Europe who observed the end of summer by making sacrifices to Samhain (the lord of death and evil spirits). They believed on October 31, Samhain assembled the spirits of people who died the previous year to return to their homes to visit their living families as they were looking for new bodies to dwell in. Druid priests led the people in worship ceremonies where animals and people were sacrificed and burned to death. Halloween has been a celebration of death.
Costumes & Parades: As the living people did not want to be possessed by the evil spirits, they would extinguish fires in their homes to make them cold and undesirable. They would dress up in ghoulish costumes and noisily parade around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
Trick--‐or--‐Treat: Druid priests would go house to house asking for sacrifices. Those who gave were promised well while those who refused were cursed and threatened. These wandering spirits would get hungry, so if a treat was left out for them, they would not trick or curse you.
Jack--‐o--‐Lanterns (abbreviation of “Jack of the Lantern”; Jack is another name for joker or Satan): The fearsome face of the Jack-o-Lantern was representa.ve of the god of the dead Samhain, who would drive off less powerful evil spirits abroad that night. This face would ward off the spirits of the dead on Halloween. In our culture, Halloween has become a fun for children to dress up in cute costumes and get bags of goodies to enjoy. However, some have desires for their families to consider why they keep certain traditions (even in the name of “it’s just fun” or “everyone does it”) by going to the origin of these celebrations and activities.
