Halloween (All Hallow Even) was the last night of the British Celtic year (equivalent to the modern new year's eve) - October the 31st, later adopted as the Eve of All Saints by the Christian church in Britain when the Pope of Rome in 610 ordered that the heathen Pantheon should be converted into a Christian church and dedicated to the honour of all martyrs.
Halloween was a Celtic fire festival and a day on which the spirits of the dead revisited their old homes and evil spirits roamed the land. Superstition, based in part upon the reality that November the 1st (Samhain) ushered in the cold, dark months of winter, encouraged the Celts to placate the spirits of nature at Halloween, lest the next year's crops should fail, and because of the presence of so many spirits at large at this time, and the strong supernatural forces at work, it was a time for divination. Later, games were held throughout Britain for teenagers, including apple and sixpence bobbing, success at these games being thought to guarantee good fortune for the coming year and to enable divination with regard to forthcoming marriages. In early Ireland, it is reported that children were sacrificed to placate the evil spirits at Halloween, but this is more probably propaganda than a reality. During the 19th century Irish immigrants introduced to America the concept of mischief on Halloween, with young men playing tricks on residents and demanding a treat lest they should play a trick on them - an echo of sacrifices of foods to the spirits so as to placate them. This practise having originated in the North of England, while elsewhere young people demanded of their elders to be shown a magic trick or receive a treat by way of a forfeit by the elder.
Welsh tradition had it that on Halloween, an evil spirit sat on every stile. While in Scotland the notion of the goblin was invented, which only came out on Halloween. Modern Halloween is not, as is popularly thought, an American invention, but a survival of an old British festival. Sacrifices are still made to placate the witches, goblins, ghosts and other supernatural spirits, though these now generally take the form of sweets given to costumed children dressed as representations of the spirits, that call from house to house demanding of those devoid of supernatural powers (proven by performing a trick) tribute (a treat) so as to ensure good fortune the following year. Research Halloween
Abbreviations
Mythology
Research Halloween