Legends and History of
Halloween
History and Meanings of Days of the Dead ( Dias de los
Muertos) 
Legends and History of Halloween
Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. The
holiday we know as Halloween has had many influences from many cultures over the
centuries. From the Roman's Pomona Day, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, to the
Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days. Hundreds of years ago in what is now
Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts. The Celts worshipped nature and had
many gods, with the sun god as their favorite. It was the Sun God who commanded their work
and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow. The Celts
celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival
and marked the end of the "season of the sun" and the beginning of "the
season of darkness and cold." The Celts believed, that during the winter, the sun god
was taken prisoner by Samhain, the Lord of the Dead and Prince of Darkness.
On the eve before their new year (October 31), it was believed that Samhain called
together all the dead people. The dead would take different forms, with the bad spirits
taking the form of animals. The most evil taking the form of cats.
On October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter the
cooking fires in the homes would be
extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, would meet in the hilltop in the dark oak
forest (oak trees were considered sacred). The Druids would light new fires and offer
sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the the fires, the season of the
sun passed and the season of darkness would begin.
When the morning arrived the Druids would give an ember from their fires to each family
who would then take them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes
warm and free from evil spirits. The November 1st festival was named after Samhain and
honored both the sun god and Samhain. The festival would last for 3 days. Many people
would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of their animals. This festival
would become the first Halloween.
During the first century the Romans invaded Britain. They brought with them many of their
festivals and customs. One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day, named for their
goddess of fruits and gardens. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After
hundreds of years of Roman rule the customs of the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman
Pomona Day
mixed becoming 1 major fall holiday.
The next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout Europe
and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church would make November 1st a church
holiday to honor all the saints. This day was called All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas, or All
Hallows. Years later the Church would make November 2nd a holy day. It was called All
Souls
Day and was to honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people
dressing up as saints, angels and devils.
But the spread of Christianity did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve
of All Hallows, Oct. 31, people continued to celebrate the festival of Samhain and Pomona
Day. Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed. October 31st became known
as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, and then - Halloween.
The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Pomona Day's apples,
nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Sanhain's black cats, magic, evil spirits and death,
and the ghosts, skeletons and skulls from All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day.
Los Dias de los
Muertos 
Days of the Dead
Los Dias de los Muertos, the Days of the Dead, is a traditional Mexico holiday honoring
the dead. It is celebrated every year at the same time as Halloween and the Christian holy
days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1st and 2nd). Los Dias de los Muertos
is not a sad time, but instead a time of remembering and rejoicing.
In many places the townspeople dress up as ghouls, ghosts, mummies and skeletons and
parade through the town carrying an open coffin. The "corpse" within smiles as
it is carried through the narrow streets of town. The local vendors toss oranges inside as
the procession makes its way past their markets. Lucky "corpses" can also catch
flowers, fruits, and candies.
In the homes families arrange ofrenda's or "altars" with flowers, bread, fruit
and candy. Pictures of the deceased family members are added. In the late afternoon
special all night burning candles are lit - it is time to remember the departed - the old
ones, their parents and grandparents.
The next day the families travel to the cemetery, with hoes, picks and shovels. They also
carry flowers, candles, blankets, and picnic baskets. They have come to clean and maintain
the graves of their loved ones. The Crypts are scrubbed and swept. Colorful flowers,
bread, fruit and candles are placed on the graves. Some bring guitars and radios to listen
to. Some families will spend the entire night in the cemeteries. Different parts of the
country celebrate this holiday a little differently. In some places an entire meal will be
left overnight when the family leaves.
Skeletons and skulls are found everywhere. Chocolate, marzipan and white chocoloate
skulls,coffins, and skeletons are especially enjoyed. Special loaves of bread are baked,
called "pan de muertos", and decorated with "bones". Skeleton
figurines, called calacas, are especially popular. Calacas usually show an active and
joyful afterlife. Figures of musicians, mariachis,generals on horseback, even skeletal
brides, in their white bridal gowns marching down the aisles with their boney grooms are
especially fun.
The celebration of Los Dias de los Muertos, like the customs of Halloween, evolved with
the influences of the
Celtics, the Romans, and the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. But
with added influences
from the Aztec people of Mexico. The Aztecs believed in an afterlife where the spirits of
their dead would return as hummingbirds and butterflies. Every autumn Monarch Butterflies,
which have summered up north in the United States and Canada, return to Mexico for the
winter protection of the oyamel fir trees. The locale inhabitants welcome back the
returning butterflies, which many believe bear the spirits of their departed. The spirits
to be honored during Los
Dias de los Muertos.Even images carved in the ancient Aztec monuments show this belief -
the linking the spirits of the
dead and the Monarch butterfly.
For more information about the history of other holidays, click here.
Email: sales@floramex.com
