By Megan Zickuhr

Trail Staff Writer

I defer this week from my usual television show reviews to talk about the history of one of my favorite holidays: Halloween.
The idea of the holiday began nearly 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France. The native people of this area, the Celts, celebrated their new year on Nov. 1 because it was the end of harvest and the beginning of winter, a dark and cold season.
The Celts thought that winter symbolized death. So, it was believed that the night before the new year, the worlds of the living and the dead blended together. Therefore, on Oct. 31, they celebrated a holiday called Samhain (pronounced sow-in), when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead walked the earth.
The ghosts were believed to cause trouble and damage crops but also they helped the Druids, or Celtic priests, make predictions about the futures. It gave the people hope through the long winter. During the celebration, the Druids built large bonfires where sacrifices were made. They also wore costumes made of animal skins and heads and told each other’s fortunes.
In 43 AD when Rome had taken over the Celtic lands, they celebrated a day in late October commemorating the passing of the dead. This was called Feralia.
Another celebration was called Pomona after the Roman goddess of fruits and trees. The symbol of the festival of Pomona was an apple, which is why people now incorporate the idea of bobbing for apples into their Halloween celebrations.
Finally, by the 800s, Christianity had spread to the pagan Celtic lands. Pope Boniface IV deemed Nov. 1 as All Saint’s Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. Many scholars believe that the pope was trying to eliminate the celebration of the dead with a church-sanctioned holiday. All Saint’s Day was called All-hallowmas, meaning All Saint’s Day, which led to the night before being named All Hallow’s Eve, which eventually led to the name Halloween. Later, Nov. 2 was also made a holiday, called All Soul’s Day, and together the three were called Hallowmas.
Halloween has a very interesting history that didn’t originate in Transylvania with Count Dracula or Frankenstein. But I hope that you all enjoy the holiday just as much, now knowing it’s true roots.