Halloween tradition has Druid origins

Halloween tradition has Druid origins

JAKARTA (JP): Halloween parties are celebrated here not only
by expatriates but also by locals. Halloween, the festival of the
dead, might have a scary history but it is surely full of fun.

Halloween, a festival of Scottish-English origin, is short for
All Hallow Even (All Saints' Eve), and is held on the night of
Oct. 31. Customs connected with Halloween can be traced to a
Druid ceremony in pre-Christian times.

The Celts had festivals for two major gods -- the sun god and
the god of the dead (called Samhain) on Nov. 1, the beginning of
the Celtic New Year. The festival of the dead was gradually
incorporated into Christian ritual. In the 9th century, a feast
in honor of all the saints was fixed on Nov. 1. And in the 11th
century, Nov. 2 was specified as All Souls Day to honor the souls
of the dead, particularly those who had died the preceding year.

In Europe, during medieval times and later, elves, fairies,
and witches (who occasionally took the shape of cats) were
believed to fly about on All Hallow Even. Bonfires were lit to
ward off these creatures. Vestiges of these beliefs and practices
persisted in Scotland and Ireland into recent times.

Halloween was also a time for games and rituals involving the
methods of foretelling the future. Several omens, such as apple
pairings thrown over the shoulder or nuts burned in the fire,
were believed by single people to be an affective method of
determining their marriage prospects.

The Scottish and Irish took the Halloween traditions to
America, where the pumpkin replaced the turnip for jack-o'-
lanterns. In the late 19th century, the Irish belief that the
"little people", or fairies, played pranks on Halloween led boys
and young men to carry out practical jokes on that night.

Now, children dress up in costumes and go from door to door to
trick or treat. They collect candy or pennies. Inhospitable or
absent householders may be punished with tricks -- customarily
mild but sometimes destructive. (Gedsiri Suhartono)