WELCOME... THIS IS HALLOWEEN, PART 1!!!

Welcome everybody to this new entry of Montcada in English!!! Today I'd like to talk about one of the most popular festivities in America (and in other English speaking countries): Halloween!!! I hope you enjoy it!!!

Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of All Hallows' Evening), also known as All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31st , the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day, the time of the year which is dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain. Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films.

In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead. Although the modern Halloween is based on traditions from the USA, the origins of Halloween can actually be found in Celtic Britain. The Celts lived in the British Isles during ancient times and worshipped the gods of nature. There were two important festivals in the Celtic calendar, Beltane and Samhain. Beltane celebrated the beginning of summer and Samhain the start of winter, and was the first day of the year on the Celtic calendar.

The festival of Samhain started on October 31st and finished on November 1st. The Celts were frightened of winter because the days were short and cold, and the nights were very long - they associated winter with death and evil spirits. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st the spirits of the dead rose from the tombs and they made big fires to scare the ghosts away. They also wore scary costumes and played games on October 31st to bring good luck for the year. Nuts and apples were eaten and were considered lucky foods.

The colours of Halloween are also of Celtic origin. Black was the colour of winter and long nights. Orange was the colour of the harvest. The black cat is another symbol of Halloween because the Celts believed that a black cat had special powers.

Well... Do not panic!!! I hope this information will be helpful for everyone!!! Soon I'll post more things about Halloween!!!

C Ya!!!