Halloween is one of the world’s oldest holidays. It is still celebrated in several countries all around the globe. The word “Halloween” comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, “All Hollows Day” or “All Saints Day”, is a Catholic holiday to honor the saints. In the Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31, back in the fifth century BC. It was the Celtic New Year called Samhain, which means, “end of summer”
Trick for Treat
During the Samhain, the Druids thought the dead were playing tricks on everyone causing panic and destruction. The country folks would give the Druids food such as; bread cakes, cheese, eggs, butter, apples, etc. They would even give them money when they visited. The food was for the festival of St. Columb Kill.
November 2 is called “All Soul Day”. The early Christians would go from village to village asking people to give them “Soul Cakes”. They were made out of square pieces of bread with currants. For every soul cane the would get, the more prayers the would give to the donors dead relatives. They believe that the dead would remain in limbo for a short time after death. They also believed that the prayers, even by strangers, could expedite the souls passage into heaven.
