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Halloween in France

Hi, Ghouls and Demons, I thought it would be fun to share some facts about Halloween in France. On this day it was believed that the spirits rose from the dead to mingle with the living. The Celts left food at their doors to lure good spirits and wore masks to scare off evil spirits. The celebration of Samhain celebrated at the end of the harvest and honoring the dead. Centuries later the Roman Catholic church established November 1st as All Saints Day ( La Toussaint ) to honor Saints who don’t have their own Holy day. They wanted to detract attention away from celebrating Samhain considered a Pagan celebration.

Some say the Celts in northern France celebrated Halloween, but this can’t be confirmed. Halloween is not a traditional French holiday, yet  becomes more and more popular every year due to cultural influence and corporate marketing. The French have been hearing about Halloween from foreigners, tourists and in their English …

October 30th, 2009 by CareTaker 

The History and Origins of Halloween

Every kid (and kid at heart) looks forward to October, 31st each year. Little boys magically turn into vampires and little girls into fairies, bidding for the greatest haul of sugar laden sweets and candies. However, Halloween has a much deeper, and in some ways darker history, that has given birth to one of the most beloved holidays in the world.

Halloween’s origins go all the way back to Ancient times with the Celtic festival of Samhain. This was the Celt’s version of a New Years Eve celebration honoring the end of summer and harvest time, and marking a period of cold, darkness, and death of winter. Celts believed that this end of the year time marked the time in which the barrier between the living and the dead became thin. On October 31st the spirits would come back from the dead and create havoc by damaging the crops with frost and causing a multitude of other troubles.

The Roman …

October 10th, 2009 by CareTaker 

Halloween The Ancient Holiday

HalloweenHalloween is one of my most favorite times of the year. Although I dread the coming of winter I still enjoy the coolness and the wonderful smells that Autumn brings.

I truly look forward to trekking up and down the streets in our neighborhood with my daughter trick-or-treating. I love all the Halloween decorations and seeing how crazy some of the people can get with them. I also can’t wait until the day after Halloween when all the cool Halloween stuff goes on clearance sale.

Do you know how we came to celebrate Halloween? The holiday has it’s origins in an ancient festival called Samhain. Later, when the Catholic Church became more influential the day was referred to as All Hallow’s Eve.

Over the years the traditions and activities have changed, but when we look into it there are still many resemblances to the ancient practices.

If you would like to read about the history behind Halloween check out the …

October 8th, 2007 by CareTaker 

Why Do We Carve Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween?

Jack o lanternHave you ever wondered where we got the idea to carve Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween? The tradition actually came to us from Irish/Celtic mythology. This particular legend had to do with a man known as Stingy Jack.

Stingy Jack made a deal with the Devil that left him in a bad situation upon his death. Stingy Jack was unable to enter either Heaven or Hell and so was doomed to spend eternity in between.

In the beginning  jack-o-lanterns were carved mainly from turnips, but the Irish also used gourds, potatoes, rutabagas and even beets.

Read more about Stingy Jack and how the legends developed into the Jack-O-Lantern along with lots of other fascinating information about the origins of Halloween:

The History and Origins of Halloween

//www.trueghosttales.com/history-halloween.php

September 1st, 2007 by CareTaker