Halloween,
or Hallowe'en, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints'
Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October,
the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the
three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year
dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all
the faithful departed believers.
According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain. Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.
Typical
contemporary festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the
related "guising"), attending costume parties, decorating, carving
pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing and divination
games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and
watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious
observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and
lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although in other
locations, these solemn customs are less pronounced in favor of a more
commercial and secular celebration. Because many Western Christian
denominations encourage, although most no longer require, abstinence from meat
on All Hallows' Eve, the tradition of eating certain vegetarian foods for this
vigil day developed, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider,
potato pancakes, and soul cakes.
Etymology
The word
Halloween or Hallowe'en dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin. The
word "Halloween" means "hallowed evening" or "holy
evening". It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve (the evening before
All Hallows' Day). In Scots, the word "eve" is even, and this is
contracted to e'en or een. Over time, (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en evolved into
Halloween. Although the phrase "All Hallows'" is found in Old English
(ealra hālgena mæssedæg, all saints mass-day), "All Hallows' Eve" is
itself not seen until 1556.
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