All Hallow's Eve, better known as Halloween or Witches' Night, is a holiday of pagan origin that has been celebrated every 31 October and whose origin comes from an ancient Celtic festival more than 3.000 years ago. known as Samhain ("Summer's End", in Old Irish).
The holiday was celebrated in Ireland when the harvest season came to an end and the "Celtic New Year" began, coinciding with the autumn solstice. It was believed that during that night of 31 October, the spirits of the dead could walk among the living. For this, it became a tradition to wear masks in order to "drive away evil spirits". In addition, banquets were held at the tombs of family ancestors. The sacred rites celebrated originally had a purifying and religious character, among which was communication with the dead, who were helped to find their way by placing lighted candles in the windows.
When the Romans arrived in Celtic lands, the festival was mixed with those of the invaders as the "harvest festival", celebrated in honor of the goddess Pomona.
Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV attempted to replace Halloween with the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day which was moved from May 13 to November 1.
Internationalization of Halloween
The Halloween festival arrives in the United States and Canada in the year 1840 through Irish immigrants. It wasn't until 1921 that the first Halloween parade in Minnesota began to be celebrated.
During the following decades, the festival became more popular until its internationalization in 1970 thanks to television series and movies. In 1978, "Halloween" was released, the horror film by John Carpenter which achieved great popularity throughout the world.
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