The word Halloween comes from Hallowe’en, meaning ‘hallowed evening‘ or holy evening.
Halloween is a lazy way to write Hallowe’en and thereby destroy its true meaning of All Hallows’Evening. Simply meaning All Saints Evening as it is celebrated on the evening before All Saints” Day also known as All Hallows’Day.
Black cats are part of the Hallowe’en or is it Halloween superstitions.
So where cometh the ghosts and goblins and trick or treat? It marks the one single night, according to Celtic beliefs, when the spirits and the dead can cross over into the world of the living.
At a time, when my children were young, and it was safe to wander the streets in search of a treat earned by doing a trick, we had neighborhoods that decorated. Much like Christmas, these homes went out of their way to make Halloween scary fun for the children
A wondrous Hallowe’en Memory
One such home could talk to you coming within a house of two of their Hallowe’en decked out home. “Go home parent and dress for the occasion in order that your children are safe in my presence! You may not enter until you do for fear your child will be taken across.”
Well easy to imagine you went home and dressed up. Can’t disappoint the kids who were determined to enter his property.
There is nothing like crisp October leaves for making wonderful floating ghosts suspended from low hanging tree branches. Floating back and forth in howling fall winds. Not high enough to miss the unsuspected as they walk beneath them; just high enough to float across an unsuspecting head.
There is something about the mood of Hallowe’en or is it Halloween when you are on a trick or treat hunt that can even make a parent jumpy!
There was none more intimidating than this talking house. Who was
the voice? Their excitement high, the children would knock on the door yelling trick or treat. Well this door opened to a vampire complete with long blood soaked teeth and hands and a whispery voice that said “Yes? Come on in” then proceeded to give one hellish laugh.
Everyone jumped and added a scream or two when faced with this apparition. He appeased his ‘victims‘ with another laugh and to tell them they were safe because mom and dad had dressed and to his delight, they all jumped. Parent and child alike – which was his way of letting the children pick their treat as he had already received the proper trick response.
Hallowe’en or Halloween and Celtic Observances
The early Celtic beliefs held that spirits from the underworld, and ghosts of dead people, could visit the world of the living on the night of October 31. The belief that these ghosts and spirits could harm the living or take them back to the underworld, caused people to dress up as ghosts and spirits. Thus leaving their homes in hopes of confusing the dead.
This leaves us with an obscure understanding of who were the Celts and where did they originate. Most importantly, are they considered Irish?
That you will have to wander through books and links to be found in this resource I leave to answer your questions. Or should I say begin to answer your questions. Meantime, Happy Hallowe’en!
While you are here and the mood of Hallowe’en is in your blood, visit
my friend “Skelly” He too has a creepy invitation.
© 2018, franniec. All rights reserved.
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