What is Halloween for? Or what is the significance of this festival?

Every year10,31is a traditional "ghost festival" in the west-Halloween. However, the atmosphere of this day is far less "creepy" than its name. Whenever Halloween comes, children can't wait to put on colorful costumes, put on strange masks and carry a "pumpkin lantern" to ask adults for holiday gifts everywhere. These are the most well-known symbols of Halloween-strange "jack-o'-lanterns" and "trick or treat" pranks.

The appearance of "pumpkin lantern" is very cute and the method is extremely simple. Hollow out the pumpkin, then carve smiling eyes and a big mouth on the outside, then put a candle in the pumpkin and light it, so that people can see this innocent smiling face from far away. This is the children's favorite toy.

However, the highlight of Halloween is still at the dinner table. You should not only prepare delicious food to entertain those "children" who make trouble, but also decorate your dining table on this special festival. Don't let your guests underestimate you!

On the most "haunted" night of the year, all kinds of monsters, pirates, alien visitors and witches are out in succession. Before the Christian era, the Celts held ceremonies in summer to thank God and the sun for their kindness. At that time, fortune tellers lit and practiced witchcraft to drive away monsters who were said to be wandering around. Later, the harvest festival celebrated by the Romans with nuts and apples merged with Celtic 10 and 3 1. In the Middle Ages, people put on costumes in the shape of animals and put on terrible masks to drive away ghosts in the dark. Although Christianity later replaced the religious activities of Celts and Romans, the early customs still existed. Now, children wear all kinds of costumes and masks to attend Halloween dances. Witches, black cats, ghosts and paper-pasted bones are often hung on the walls around these dances, while grinning or ugly pumpkin lanterns are hung on the windows and doorways. Children often try to bite the hanging apples.

The origin of Halloween

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There are many versions of legends about the origin of Halloween. The most common ones originated from ancient western European countries before the birth of Christ, mainly including Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The ancient Western Europeans in these places were called Drouth people. The New Year in Drouth is 1 1 month 1 day, New Year's Eve. People in Drouth let young people wander among villages in groups, wearing all kinds of weird masks and carrying carved radish lanterns (pumpkin lanterns are a late custom, and there were no pumpkins in ancient Western Europe). It was actually celebrating the autumn harvest; Some people say it is "Ghost Festival". It is said that the souls of those who died that year will visit the world on Halloween. It is said that people should let visiting ghosts see the harvest and show rich enthusiasm to them. All the bonfires and lights, in order to scare away ghosts, also illuminate the route for ghosts and guide them back.

In medieval Central Europe, there was a history of Christianity destroying pagans. However, the sacrificial ceremony before New Year's Eve never really disappeared, but appeared in the form of witchcraft. That's why we have traces of witches' brooms, black cats, spells and so on on Halloween.

There are two legends about the origin of Halloween:

First kind

More than two thousand years ago, the Catholic Church in Europe designated 1 65438+1October1as "All Hallows' Day". "Saint" means saint. Legend has it that since 500 BC, Celts living in Ireland, Scotland and other places have moved this festival forward by one day, that is, 65438+1October 3 1. They think that this day is the day when summer officially ends, that is, the beginning of the new year and the beginning of the severe winter. At that time, people believed that on this day, the dead souls of the deceased would return to their former homes to look for all beings, so as to be reborn, which was the only hope of being reborn after death. Living people are afraid of dead souls to take life, so people put out fire and candlelight on this day, so that dead souls can't find living people and dress up as monsters to scare away dead souls. After that, they will rekindle the candlelight and start a new year's life. Legend has it that Celtic tribes also had the custom of killing the living to commemorate the dead on June 3 10.

By the 1 century, the Romans who occupied the territory of Celtic tribes gradually accepted the custom of Halloween, but the barbaric practice of burning the living to sacrifice the dead was abolished. Roman festivals celebrating harvest were combined with Celtic rituals, wearing terrible masks and dressed as animals or ghosts to drive away demons wandering around them. This is why most people in the world celebrate Halloween with strange costumes today. With the passage of time, the meaning of Halloween has gradually changed, becoming active, joyful and festive. The idea of the deceased seeking the reincarnation of body double was gradually abandoned and forgotten. Today, most images and pictures symbolizing Halloween, such as witches and black cats, have friendly, lovely and interesting faces.

The second type

Another version of the legend about the origin of Halloween believes that it originated in ancient western European countries before the birth of Christ, mainly including Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The ancient Western Europeans in these places were called Drouth people. Drouth's New Year falls on 165438+ 10/0/. On New Year's Eve, Drouth people let young people wander around the village in groups of three or five, wearing all kinds of weird masks and carrying carved radish lanterns (pumpkin lanterns are a late custom, and there were no pumpkins in ancient western Europe at the earliest). It was actually celebrating the autumn harvest; Some people say it is "Ghost Festival". It is said that the souls of those who died that year will visit the world on Halloween. It is said that people should let visiting ghosts see the harvest and show rich enthusiasm to them. All the bonfires and lights, in order to scare away ghosts, also illuminate the route for ghosts and guide them back.

In medieval Central Europe, there was a history of Christianity destroying pagans. However, the sacrificial ceremony before New Year's Eve never really disappeared, but appeared in the form of witchcraft. That's why we have traces of witches' brooms, black cats, spells and so on on Halloween.

supplement

The Celts believed that the sun god helped them grow crops. However, the sun god is attacked by an evil force called Samhain every year and imprisoned for six months. Samhain, also known as "the king of death" and "the prince of darkness", brought cold and dark winters to the Celtic land.

The Celts were very afraid of the night of June 3 1 because they thought there were a group of evil spirits lurking anywhere. They make a fire at home to let the evil spirits leave their home. They believe that Samhain summons the dead, and they also believe that Samhain will turn the dead into something else, such as a cat. The Celts will put on terrible camouflage to drive away those evil souls. (This is the prototype of Halloween)

After Rome occupied the Celtic land, the Roman festival on June 3 10 was combined with the Celtic Samhain Festival, which became the present Halloween.

Halloween customs

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65438+1October 3 1 is Halloween in the west. There are wonderful live performances, stage magic tricks, lifelike walking ghosts, and all kinds of horror movies on American streets.

In the evening, I quickly put up spider silk to help the actors who are responsible for scaring people make up. The contents of haunted houses are mostly related to movie themes, such as legends of ghosts and gods, interstellar legends and ghost stories. The layout, makeup techniques and costumes of these scenes are all like real situations. If you are not careful, you will definitely scream.

The origin of this carnival is in 500 BC. People living in Ireland, Scotland and other places believe that the deceased will return to their former residence on 10, 3 1 to find life among the living and get a chance of rebirth. Because local residents are worried that ghosts will take their lives, when June 3 1 comes, they will turn off all the lights so that ghosts can't find the living and dress up as monsters to scare them away.

With the passage of time, the meaning of Halloween has gradually become festive. So the monsters and pictures symbolizing Halloween have become lovely and quaint, such as pumpkin monsters and witches. Creative Americans dress up as ghosts as much as possible on this day, making Halloween much more interesting.

Trick or treat-trick or treat

An interesting content of Halloween is "trick or treat", but this custom did not originate from Ireland, but from the Christian church in Europe in the ninth century. At that time,165438+1October 2nd was called "All Souls Day" by Christians. On this day, believers trudged in the backcountry, begging from door to door for "soul bread" made of flour and raisins. It is said that people who donate cakes believe in the prayers of church monks, hoping to get God's protection and let their dead relatives enter heaven as soon as possible. This tradition of begging from door to door has evolved into a game, with children begging for candy from door to door with pumpkin lanterns. Children dress up as ghosts when they meet? 1? seven