Halloween is one of America's most loved Holidays. In fact, its the 2nd largest commercial holiday besides Christmas and the 3rd largest party holiday behind New Year's Eve and Super Bowl Sunday. Do you know the history behind the holiday though? Why do we dress up in costumes and parade around town begging for candy?
Summerset Boat Lifts would like to take you back to the beginning, back to when the Holiday started!
The History of Halloween
Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. According to History.com, the holiday is thought to have originated with the ancient festival of Samhain. November 1 marked the end of the Summer harvest and the beginning of a cold, dark Winter. The Celts believed that on the night before this "new year," the boundary between the worlds of the living and dead became blurred. It was believed that on October 31, the ghosts of the dead returned to the earth causing trouble and damaging crops. They also believed that the presence of these spirits made it easier for the Celtic priests to make predictions about the future, giving the people comfort and direction during the long, dark Winter.
Roman Impact
For the festival, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where everyone gathered to burn crops and sacrifice animals. They wore costumes typically consisting of animal heads and skins, while attempting to tell each other's fortunes. After the Roman Empire conquered the majority of Celtic territory, two Roman festivals were combined with Samhain. Feralia was a day late in October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second festival was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Her symbol is the apple and its incorporation into the holiday explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that we practice today with our Halloween celebrations. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1st as All Saint's Day, a time to honor all saints and martyrs. The holiday incorporated many of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before became known as All Hallows' Eve, which later became what we know today as Halloween.
Halloween Today
The first celebrations in America included public events to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's fortunes, dance and sing. The festivities often included the telling of ghost stories and mischief making of all kinds. Over time, the holiday evolved into a more secular, community event with kid-friendly activities like dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating. Due to these efforts, Halloween lost much of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the 20th century. As the days grow shorter and the temperatures start to drop, Winter is welcomed with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats!
Summerset Boat Lifts is your premier Lake of the Ozarks boat lift dealer! We’re proud to offer the Galva-Hoist product line of floating boat lifts. Galva-Hoist is engineered at the lake for The Lake…Lake of the Ozarks. The Galva-Hoist is extremely capable of withstanding the roughest waters here at the lake. No matter what brand of boat or dock you have, the Galva-Hoist at Lake of the Ozarks provides great value and performance!
1165 Jeffries Road Osage Beach, MO 65065
Email:info@summersetboatlifts.com
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