Halloween, named "All Hallows Eve," was first celebrated by the ancient Celts in Ireland in the fifth centery B.C. on the night of October 31, then, the official end of summer. All would gather outside the village around a huge bon fire to honor the sun god for the past summers harvest and to frighten away furtive spirits. The Celts believed that on October 31 all persons who died in the previous year came to choose a body of a person or animal to inhabit for the next year. So families dressed up to frighten roving souls away. Families were as loud and destructive as possible.
Irish immigrants fleeing their countries potato famine in the 1840s brought Halloween customs to America with them.
Halloween these days are thought of as a evil holiday. It really is what you make of it. If you think it's a bad thing and you participate in it, it is a bad thing.
In the next few days I will write about where other Halloween customs came from, so enjoy.
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