Introduction to Holy Festival
Every year on October 11, it is the traditional "Ghost Festival" in the West-Halloween. October 31th is Halloween. It is usually called Halloween. But the atmosphere of this day is far from "creepy" as its name suggests. Whenever Halloween comes, children can't wait to put on colorful make-up clothes, put on strange masks, carry a "Jack-o-lantern" and go around asking adults for holiday gifts. These are the most well-known symbols of Halloween-the strange "jack-o'-lantern" and the practical joke of "performing magic or giving candy".
The "Jack-o-lantern" looks very cute, and the method is extremely simple. Hollow out the pumpkin, then carve smiling eyes and a big mouth on the outside, then insert a candle in the pumpkin and light it, so that people can see this naive smiling face from a far distance. This is the children's favorite plaything.
However, the highlight of Halloween is still on the dining table. You should not only prepare delicious food to entertain those "kids" who come to make trouble, but also dress up your dining table on this special festival. Don't let your guests underestimate you!
On the most "haunted" night of the year, all kinds of monsters, pirates, alien visitors and witches come out one after another. Before the Christian era, the Celts held a ceremony in the summer to thank God and the sun for their kindness. At that time, diviners lit and practiced witchcraft to drive away monsters who were said to be wandering around. Later, the harvest festival celebrated by the Romans with nuts and apples merged with the Celtic on October 31. In the Middle Ages, people wore animal-shaped costumes and terrible masks to drive away ghosts in the dark on Halloween. Although Christianity later replaced Celtic and Roman religious activities, the early customs remained. Nowadays, children wear all kinds of costumes and masks to participate in Halloween dances. Witches, black cats, ghosts and bones with paper paste are often hung on the walls around these dances, while grinning or ugly pumpkin lanterns are hung at the windows and doors. Children often try to bite the hanging apples.
Edit the origin of Halloween in this paragraph
There are many versions of the legend about the origin of Halloween, and the most common one is that it originated from ancient western European countries before the birth of Christ, mainly including Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The ancient Western Europeans in these places are called druitt people. Druitt's New Year is on November 1st, New Year's Eve. People in druitt make young people gather in groups, wear all kinds of weird masks and carry carved radish lanterns (pumpkin lanterns are a late custom, and there were no pumpkins in ancient western Europe), and they wander among villages. At that time, it was actually a celebration of autumn harvest; It is also said to be "Ghost Festival". It is said that the souls of those who died in that year will visit the world on the eve of Halloween. It is said that people should let the visiting ghosts see a good harvest and show rich hospitality to them. All bonfires and lights, in order to scare away ghosts, also illuminate the route for ghosts and guide them to return.
In medieval Central Europe, there was a history of Christianity destroying pagans. However, the sacrificial ceremony before New Year's Eve has never really been eliminated, but it has appeared in the form of witchcraft. This is why we still have traces of witches' brooms, black cats, spells and so on in Halloween.
Two legends about the origin of Halloween:
The first
More than two thousand years ago, the Catholic Church in Europe designated November 1st as "ALL HALLOWS DAY". "HALLOW" means saint. Legend has it that since 511 BC, CELTS living in Ireland, Scotland and other places moved this festival forward by one day, that is, October 31. They think that this day is the day when summer officially ends, that is, the beginning of the new year and the beginning of the harsh winter. At that time, people believed that on this day, the dead soul of the deceased would return to the former residence to look for living beings, so as to be reborn, and this was the only hope for people to be reborn after death. The living are afraid of the dead soul to seize life, so people put out the fire and candlelight on this day, so that the dead soul can't find the living, and dress up as monsters to scare away the souls of the dead. After that, they will rekindle the candlelight and start a new year's life. Legend has it that at that time, Celtic tribes still had the custom of killing the living to commemorate the dead on October 31.
In the 1th century, the Romans who occupied the territory of Celtic tribes gradually accepted the Halloween custom, but the barbaric practice of burning the living to sacrifice the dead was abolished. Roman festivals celebrating harvest were combined with Celtic rituals, wearing terrible masks and dressing up as animals or ghosts in order to drive away demons wandering around them. This is why most people around the world celebrate Halloween with strange costumes today. As time goes by, the meaning of Halloween has gradually changed, and it has become active and happy, and the festive meaning has become the mainstream. The idea that the dead sought body double's reincarnation was gradually abandoned and forgotten. Today, most images and pictures symbolizing Halloween, such as witches and black cats, have friendly, lovely and funny faces.
the second
another version of the legend about the origin of Halloween thinks that it originated from ancient western European countries before the birth of Christ, mainly including Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The ancient Western Europeans in these places are called druitt people. Druitt's New Year is on October 1, New Year's Eve. In druitt, young people gather together, wear all kinds of weird masks and carry carved radish lanterns (pumpkin lanterns are a late custom, and there were no pumpkins in ancient western Europe), and they wander among villages. At that time, it was actually a celebration of autumn harvest; It is also said to be "Ghost Festival". It is said that the souls of those who died in that year will visit the world on the eve of Halloween. It is said that people should let the visiting ghosts see a good harvest and show rich hospitality to them. All bonfires and lights, in order to scare away ghosts, also illuminate the route for ghosts and guide them to return.
In medieval Central Europe, there was a history of Christianity destroying pagans. However, the sacrificial ceremony before New Year's Eve has never really been eliminated, but it has appeared in the form of witchcraft. This is why we still have traces of witches' brooms, black cats, spells and so on in Halloween.
supplement
The Celtic believed that the sun god helped them grow crops. However, every year, the sun god is attacked by an evil force named Samhain and imprisoned for six months. Samhain, also known as "Lord of Dead" and "Prince of Darkness", brought cold and dark winters to the land of the Celts.
The Celts were very afraid of the night of October 31th, because they thought there were a bunch of evil spirits lurking anywhere. They make a fire at home to let those evil spirits leave their home (there is a sentence in the last untranslated paragraph that flames can scare away ghosts). They believe that Samhain called the dead out, and they also believe that Samhain will turn the dead into something else, like a cat. The Celts will put on a terrible disguise to drive away those evil souls. (This is the prototype of Halloween)
After Rome occupied the land of the Celts, the Roman festival was combined with the Samhain Festival of the Celts on October 31th, and now it is Halloween!