2,000 Years ago

Celts

› Ireland

› North France

› United Kingdom

End of Harvest

› New Years Eve

Winter was a time of death

› No Heaters

› Snow

› No electricity

› No escape from the cold

› No modern medicine

› No refrigerator

› No oven or stove

Celts believed that

ghosts returned to

earth on October

31st

› Ghosts

Caused trouble

Ruined crops

Helped Druids

(priests) to predict

the future

Druids built sacred bonfires

› Burnt crops and animal sacrifices

Celts wore costumes

› No costume stores

› No sewing machines

› WHAT WOULD YOU WEAR?

› WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WORE?

Druids built sacred bonfires

› Burnt crops and animal sacrifices

Celts wore costumes

› No costume stores

› No sewing machines

› WHAT WOULD YOU WEAR?

› WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WORE?

They wore animal heads and skins!

Romans took Celtic Territory

› 43 AD

› Ruled Celtic territory for 400 years!

Festivals Combined

› Feralia

Romans remembered the dead

› Honoring Pomona

Roman goddess of Fruit and Trees

“bobbing” for apples

Pope Boniface IV › May 13, 609

› Celebrate Christian Martyrs

Pope Gregory III › 732 AD

› Saints are included

› Holiday moved from May 13 to November 1

WHAT HAPPENS THE DAY BEFORE ALL MARTYRS DAY?

Celtic rights taken away and blended with Christian values

All Soul’s Day › November 2, 1000

› Day to honor the dead

› Christian church attempted to replace Celtic festival with a Christian holiday

› Celebrated with bonfires and costumes

Costumes were angels, saints, and devils

Also called All-hallows (means all saint’s) Night before was called All-hallows Eve

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Celebration frowned upon in early American settlements › Protestant beliefs

WHAT IS A PROTESTANT? › A protestant is a Christian that is NOT

Catholic

Common place for Halloween celebration › Maryland

› American Indians

Learned from American settlers in Maryland

“Play Parties” › Public events

Celebrating the harvest

› Neighbors shared stories of the dead, told fortunes, danced, and sang together

Ghost stories

Mischief Making › Practical Jokes

Autumn Festivals became common › 1800s

› Halloween still not celebrated in many places

Fun Fact:

Juliette

Gordon

Low was

born on

Halloween

in 1860!

New immigrants

› 1850s

› Irish Immigrants

Moved to America because of a famine in

Ireland

› Helped to make Halloween popular everywhere in America

WHAT IS A FAMINE?

Dressing up in costumes

Going from house to house

› Asking for food or money

Eventually called Trick or Treating

Young women

› Believed they could find the name of their

future husband

Tricks with yarn or mirrors

Halloween became about neighbors

Halloween stopped being about witchcraft and ghosts

Most common way to celebrate Halloween was to go to a party › No Trick or Treating

› Games

› Harvest Food

› Costumes

Frightening Halloween celebrations were frowned upon.

Halloween was no longer religious

Baby Boom

› 1950s

› Classroom Halloween Parties

Too many kids to have parties at parks!

› Trick or Treating began again!

The only way the community could celebrate

together

Today, $6 billion is spent on Halloween

“All Souls’ Day parades in England

› Poor people begged for food

› Rich families gave poor people “soul cakes”

Poor families promised to pray for the rich

family’s dead relatives

Encouraged by the church

Called “going a-souling”

Eventually only children did this

Visited neighbors houses for beer, food, and money

SOUND FAMILIAR?

NOW Ghosts are scary!

Black cats are bad

luck

Don’t walk under a

ladder!

Boys love Halloween

THEN Ghosts were family

and were friendly

Black cats were

witches in disguise

NOTHING to do with

Halloween – this was

from the Egyptians!

Halloween was more

about girls finding

husbands!!

Girls did not work

› Many did not go to school

› Girls were to get married, have babies, cook, and clean

Many Halloween traditions focused on

helping girls find a husband or reassuring

them that they would find a husband

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT

THIS?

Cooks hid rings in mashed potatoes

› Girl who finds it will find love

Girls wrote names of suitors (possible

husbands) on nuts

› Girls threw nut into fireplace

› If nut burned instead of popping, that would

be their husband

Girls would dream of husband on

Halloween if they ate a special dessert

Threw apple peals over shoulders

› Landing in the shape of the initials of their

husband

Stood in a dark room holding a candle

› Looked in a mirror to see their husband’s

face near their shoulders

The first successful apple-bobber would

be the first to marry

How will you celebrate this year?

Will you think about Halloween differently from now on?

What did you learn from this?

What do you like most?

What do you like least?