#askoftheday What is #Halloween? #Ghosts, #ghouls and #spooks from all over have been associated with #Halloween for centuries. While the brief explanations for its history have said it originated in the #Celticfestival of Samhain, believed to be the day where the lines between our world and the next dimmed. The Aos Si, ancient spirits, were believed to be so active that day that people offered food, drink and even crops to ensure the survival of them and their livestock through the winter. However, the idea of souls returning from the dead (and seeking hospitality), and even the Aos Si, was not limited to Samhain. Other Celtic festivals like Calan Gaeaf and Beltane, the Roman Parentalia and Lemuria, the Hindu holiday Pitru Paksha, the Chinese Ghost Festival and an Aztec celebration dedicated to the underworld goddess Mictēcacihuātl (which evolved into modern Mexico's Day of the Dead) all share similar customs...even if not all of them were celebrated in autumn. While the newfangled Christian faith didn't exactly tolerate existing customs, it did have holidays of its own to add to the melting pot: All Saints' Day, or "All Hallows' Day", and All Souls' Day, commemorated on November 1 and November 2nd respectively. Hence "All Hallows' Eve" on October 31st - the three days, collectively called #Allhallowtide, also shared a common cause for praying for souls who had yet to get to Heaven. From there all it had to do was slowly mix with the existing pagan holidays to create the Halloween we know now, brought to North America by Anglican and Catholic colonists - and, naturally, mass waves of Scottish and Irish immigrants. And brats of all ages have been using all this as an excuse for junk food, #scarystories and all sorts of tomfoolery ever since. Be safe during the #HalloweenSeason If you like what you’ve read, type “#BeSafe” in the comment. ccto: #GyrMonk https://www.instagram.com/p/B4T-cd5nYSK/?igshid=1g5ydpkq3dxr
