The Halloween history goes back to the rugged Celts time. Today this holiday is more an opportunity to diversify the gray autumn weekdays, rather than calls to observe pagan traditions. In Belarus, Halloween is a young holiday, but it has already found its fans.
The holiday originated in Great Britain and Ireland back in Celtic times.
The Halloween original meaning was an agricultural one: it marked the harvest season end and the season’s winter preparations end. After the Christian traditions’ establishment, they began celebrating All Saints’ Day, without giving it the same sacred meaning or sacrificing to the gods.
In general, pagan rituals were often assimilated with Christian traditions, as it was easier for people to accept the new faith and new customs. On All Saints’ Day, a funeral mass was celebrated in the churches, which was called Allhallowmas, and the day before became known as All allows’Eve, later All Hallow e’en, which means “Memorial Eve” and has nothing to do with hell, as people sometimes try to interpret the holiday name.
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The Halloween main attributes one is the pumpkin. In the past, with the Celts, it could be a turnip, rutabaga, or any other vegetable. So again, we see a reference to agriculture and harvest. Later came the man legend who could not go to heaven or hell for his misdeeds. After making a joke with the devil, he received his punishment: now, with a frozen grimace on his face, he wanders around the earth, lighting his way with a lantern shaped like a pumpkin with a candle. It is called the Jack Lantern.
Finally, scary costumes. This is a very young tradition, which appeared with the holiday advent in the United States. In addition, its meaning is not to attract the evil (as again, mistakenly thought sometimes), but quite the opposite.
It is believed that on this day it is easier for creatures from the netherworld to penetrate our world, and to prevent them from causing us trouble, we need to “merge” with them. Moreover, the best way is to look like them.
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