History & Facts on Halloween

[Mael Coluim]

There have been a few threads on what Halloween means to us. Whether or not we should go kilted on Halloween. A few times the origins of Halloween have been mentioned. I’ve just found this article on the history of Halloween and found some interesting information.

The first thing that struck me was how much we Americans spent on Halloween – 6 billion dollars! I had no idea it was so big with us. I’ve noticed with each passing year more and more is done in decorating for it. In that regard it’s getting close in what is done for Christmas.

Read the article and let us know what grabbed you attention if anything.

[McFarkus]

I guess I already knew about most of this. Especially the correlation with Samhain. This is one of the better explanations I've seen.

The Christian Church was very good at co-opting pagan festivals. The date of Christmas corresponds with the end of the Roman Saturnalia festival and with the Mitras festival of Sol Invictus. The Christmas tree was accepted in Germany in response to Pagan tree worship. Mistletoe was part of both Norse mythology and Druidic rites.

Easter eggs, bunnies and chicks are holdovers from the pagan spring rites of fertility.

It's also how many Scots chiefs and other tribal chieftains can trace their ancestry back to Adam and Eve. When missionaries were expounding the biblical stories and genealogies, the chieftains, who could trace their ancestries back many generations, often to Odin or other gods, were particularly interested. If Adam and Eve were indeed the first man and woman, how then were they also the ancestors of this chief. The missionaries simply added biblical figures on to the known genealogy of the chief, explaining that they were part of the lost tribes of Israel.