Halloween introduction:
Halloween, commonly known as Halloween, was originally a religious festival of Catholicism and other Christians, and the time was 1 65438+1October1. Catholicism has designated Halloween as Mass Day. On this day, unless there are irresistible reasons, all believers will go to church to attend mass and remember all the saints who died and ascended to heaven, especially those famous saints in Catholic history. All Souls Festival (1 1.2) is followed by All Souls Festival. On this day, souls who have died but have not yet ascended to heaven are remembered, and believers will pray for their early ascension.
Halloween is a traditional festival in the west, which falls on June 3 1 day every year. Many people in Asia mistakenly call Halloween Halloween.
Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic New Year's Festival, and it is also a day to worship the dead. While avoiding the interference of evil spirits, they also worship ancestors and kind gods with food and pray for peace through the severe winter. The night before (that is, Halloween), children will put on makeup clothes and masks and collect candy from house to house.
The origin of Halloween name
Halloween is a traditional festival in western countries. This night is thought to be haunted, so it is also called "Ghost Festival". Chinese-speaking areas often mistake Halloween for Halloween. "Hallow" comes from Middle English halwen, which is close to the etymology of holy. In some parts of Scotland, England and Canada, Halloween is still called "Halloween Mass", which means a mass held in memory of all saints.
There are many versions about the origin of Halloween, and the ones that spread widely are:
More than two thousand years ago, Christian churches in Europe designated 1 65438+1October1as "All Hallows' Day". "Saint" means saint. Legend has it that since 500 BC, Celts living in Ireland, Scotland and other places have moved this festival forward by one day, that is, 65438+1October 3 1. 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 severe winter. At that time, people believed that on this day, the dead souls of the deceased would return to their former homes to look for all beings, so as to be reborn, which was the only hope of being reborn after death. Living people are afraid of the ghost of the dead to take life, so people put out the fire and candlelight on this day, so that the ghost of the dead can't find the living people. They dress up as monsters to scare away the ghost of the dead. After that, they will rekindle bonfires and candlelight and start a new year's life.
Halloween is actually a festival to praise autumn, just as May Day is to praise spring. Druids, priests of ancient Gaul, Britain and Ireland, had a grand festival to praise autumn, which lasted from midnight on1October 3 1 day to the next day. They believe that on that night, their great death shamanism summoned all the ghosts of those who died that year, and these evil spirits would be punished for being born as animals. Of course, as long as the thought of this ghostly party was enough to make those simple-minded fools tremble with fear at that time. So they lit a bonfire and watched these evil spirits closely. That's how the saying that there are witches and ghosts everywhere on Halloween comes from. Until now, in some isolated places in Europe, there are still people who believe this is true.
The ancient Romans also had a festival in 1 65438+1October1to pay tribute to their goddess Pomona. They roasted nuts and apples in front of the blazing bonfire. Our Halloween seems to be a mixture of ancient Roman festivals and Druidic festivals.
Halloween activities used to be very simple, and most of them were held in churches. But all over Europe, people regard Halloween as a good opportunity to have fun, tell ghost stories and scare each other. So people no longer use this festival to praise autumn, but let it become a festival of monsters.