Taken from a FB page, can’t claim credit as its author:
Samhain (Halloween) has its roots in the pagan traditions of the ancient Celts, who believed that the year was divided into a light half and a dark half. To the Celts, each day was seen as beginning at sunset and so the new year was also thought to begin with the arrival of the darkness, at Samhain.
Marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, Samhain has been an important date since ancient times. It is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin at Samhain.
Although its date is now fixed on the 31st of October, Samhain would have originally been celebrated a few days later, on the astronomical Cross-quarter day, mid way between the Autumn equinox and the Winter solstice (around November 5th). The other cross-quarter days are Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasadh, all of which are ancient festival days.
In the mid-8th Century, Pope Gregory III moved the date of All Hallows Day (All Saints Day) from 13th May (the date of the Roman festival of the Dead) to 1st November, possibly to "Christianise" the festival of Samhain. The night before ‘All Hallows Day’ then became known as ‘All Hallows Eve’ which was shortened to ‘Halloween’.
Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the veil between this world and the otherworld was lifted, allowing the Aos Sí (faeries or spirits) to pass through. In order to appease these spirits, people would leave food for them outside the house. Children would wear costumes and masks to disguise themselves, in order to confuse the Aos Sí and thus avoid being harmed or abducted.
The dead were also honoured at Samhain. The souls of those who had died since the previous Samhain were thought to revisit their homes, seeking hospitality before leaving for the otherworld. Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them.
Bonfires are traditionally associated with Samhain, when all fires would be extinguished and re-lit from the Samhain bonfire. These fires were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers with various associated rituals.
Many of the traditional halloween games were attempts to divine the future of those gathered, especially with regard to death and marriage. A fruit cake called Barm Brack is traditionally served at Samhain, inside which symbolic items were hidden. A person's future was foretold by the item they happened to find in their slice; for example a ring meant marriage and a coin meant wealth.
Jack-o-lanterns (now made from pumpkins, which come from America), is another tradition that originated in Ireland, where the lanterns were made from turnips or swedes. A folktale about a blacksmith named Jack who outsmarts the devil and wandered the earth undead, gave the lanterns their name.
During the 1840’s the Great Potato Famine forced nearly one million people to emigrate from Ireland to the United States, taking their Samhain/Halloween traditions with them. The earliest references to Halloween appeared in America shortly afterwards and since then it has become one of the countries largest holidays.
Oíche Shamhna Shona Daoibh. . . !
Happy Samhain. . . !