The Religious Roots of the Festival of Halloween.

Halloween is an extremely enjoyable festival that occurs every year on October 31st. It is mostly celebrated in the United States and Britain and my talk today is associated with the British version of this holiday. Today many people see Halloween as a pleasurable holiday, for both adults and children. The celebrations of the ancient Celts are still evident in modern festivities as you can see from the old traditions still practiced today. October 31st today is a time for dressing up, eating sweets, scaring both ourselves and each other and holding parties. Many people consider it to be their favourite holiday of the year.

Modern Halloween is all about dressing children in their favourite costumes, walking from house to house, collecting sweets and treats. Many families also decorate their homes and gardens with cobwebs, skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. However, the true origins of Halloween have become almost unrecognisable in today's celebrations, although they do include many traditions that I will outline.

halloween

Jack-o-lantern

Two cousins, the boy dressed in military camouflag...

·Costuming - The Celts wore these to ward of evil entities that were believed to be roaming the earth on that night. They could also be worn in some ceremonies as a symbol of becoming closer to their Gods. Later, when the festival turned to the Christian All Hallow's Eve, people were still extremely superstitious and continued to disguise themselves by dressing in costume to confuse the spirits. Today, costumes of modern themes are worn on Halloween by children going trick or treating and by adults seeking fun and amusement. Many parties that are held in honor of this festival are themed and ask for the guests to dress in costume.

·Trick Or Treating - Our modern custom of trick or treating may have originated from several similar old customs. I will just concentrate on one of these, a...