Imagine celebrating the New Year on Halloween. Ghosts, costumes, candy, parties, fortune tellers, bonfires- and champagne toasts at midnight! Our modern Halloween was not always about trick or treating and carving pumpkins. It was influenced by numerous other traditions, including the celebration of the Celtic New Year.
CELTIC INFLUENCE
Modern day offerings for the Samhain festival. Image courtesy of Avia Venefica on Flickr.
The largest influence on our modern Halloween is Samhain: the Celtic New Year celebration that fell roughly on October 31st – November 1st. Celts believed that on the evening of the New Year souls of the dead could return to Earth. Continue reading
AntiquityNOW 