Block, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, edit
14,282
edits
Changes
→History
All Saints' Day is mentioned by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' in its entry for 1083.<ref>1083: O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) Translated as "And in this same year departed Matilda, queen of King William, on the day after All-Hallow-mass." See "[https://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/ang11.asp The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Eleventh Century]".</ref>
All Saints' Day is mentioned by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' in its entry for 1083.<ref>1083: O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) Translated as "And in this same year departed Matilda, queen of King William, on the day after All-Hallow-mass." See "[https://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/ang11.asp The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Eleventh Century]".</ref>
===Scottish origins===
===Scottish origins===
Mayne's poem inspired [[Robert Burns]] to write "Hallowe’en" in 1785. Burns is sometimes described as, "Scotland's favorite son." He gave an extended description of the celebration. "Upon that night, when fairies light," according to the poem. Burns's poem mentions fairies and mischief making, but also cutting apples and winnowing corn. So it seems that the Scottish holiday retained features of a harvest festival.<ref>[https://interestingliterature.com/2018/10/a-short-analysis-of-robert-burns-halloween/ A Short Analysis of Robert Burns’s ‘Halloween’]", ''Interesting Literature''</ref>
Mayne's poem inspired [[Robert Burns]] to write "Hallowe’en" in 1785. Burns is sometimes described as, "Scotland's favorite son." He gave an extended description of the celebration. "Upon that night, when fairies light," according to the poem. Burns's poem mentions fairies and mischief making, but also cutting apples and winnowing corn. So it seems that the Scottish holiday retained features of a harvest festival.<ref>[https://interestingliterature.com/2018/10/a-short-analysis-of-robert-burns-halloween/ A Short Analysis of Robert Burns’s ‘Halloween’]", ''Interesting Literature''</ref>
===Victorian revivalism===
If the holiday itself originated in Scotland, the eerie rituals of the modern Halloween celebration were the work of Victorians. The Victorians were fond of reviving quaint customs that never were, and Halloween costume parties were popular in late 19th century England. A illustrated guide published in 1887 provided costume ideas.<ref name="Holt">"[https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52990/26-halloween-costume-ideas-1887-guide-fancy-dress 26 Halloween Costume Ideas from an 1887 Guide to Fancy Dress]."</ref>
===Samhain and the Celtic calendar===
That Halloween originated as the day before All Saints' Day might seem to be a straightforward explanation. But popular history points to another source: The ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.
In modern Gaelic, ''Samhain'' refers primarily to the month of November.<ref>Mark, Colin, ''The Gaelic–English Dictionary'' (2003)<br/>All Saints' Day is called ''Fèill nan Naomh Uile'' in Scotland and ''Lá na Naomh Uile'' in Ireland.</ref> Little is known about the ancient pagan festival and sources conflict on many points.
''Sanas Cormaic'', an Irish glossary written around 900, gives ''Imbol'' (February 1) as the first day of spring, ''Beltaine'' (May 1) the first day of summer, ''Lugnasad'' (August 1) the first day of fall, and ''Samhain'' (November 1) the first day of winter.<ref name="Olmsted">Olmsted, Garrett (2009). ''The Coligny Calendar: the Implications for Gaulish and Irish Festival Dates''.</ref> The Irish adopted the Julian calendar around AD 450. The seasonal dates may have transferred from the Celtic calendar at this time.
[[File:De Ricci Coligny 1926 detail month14.jpeg|left|100px|Part of the Coligny calendar. This Celtic calendar was discovered in Coligny France in 1897]]A Celtic lunisolar calendar has been reconstructed from fragments of two first century BC calendars, one found in the French town of Coligny and the other in Villards d'Heria. The first month on this calendar is called ''Samonios''. This month is cognate with Samhain. The Celts celebrated a three-day festival that began on the 17th of ''Samonios'', according to the calendar. This date may correspond to the winter solstice, which is on December 21.<ref name="Olmsted"/>
With a leap day every five years, the Coligny calendar gives the length of a solar year as 365.20 days. Since the true length is 365.2422 days, the calendar drifted by one day every 23.7 years.<ref name="Olmsted"/><ref>The amount of drift can be used to estimate the age of the calendar. For Samhain to move from the December-January period to November suggests that the calendar was in use for about 1,300 years. Pliny writes that Celtic months started on sixth day of the lunar cycle. This suggests that the calendar had already accumulated a thousand years worth of drift in his time, according to Olmsted.</ref>
===American Halloween===
===American Halloween===
[[File:Halloween.jpg|thumb|left]]In popular history, the origin of Halloween is connected to Ireland and to Irish immigration to the United States. In her thesis, Karen Hybertsen argues that the holiday entered mainstream American culture in the late 19th century and in Protestant settings.<ref>Hybertsen (1993), p. 10.</ref> This suggests that Victorian revivalism is a more likely source of the holiday than Irish immigration.<ref name="Holt">For an example of Victorian revivalism, see "[https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/52990/26-halloween-costume-ideas-1887-guide-fancy-dress 26 Halloween Costume Ideas from an 1887 Guide to Fancy Dress]."</ref>
[[File:Halloween.jpg|thumb|left]]Although Halloween is often connected to Irish immigration, the holiday entered mainstream American culture in the late 19th century and in Protestant settings, as Karen Sue Hybertsen shows in her thesis.<ref>Hybertsen (1993), p. 10.</ref> This suggests that Victorian revivalism is a more likely source of the holiday than Irish immigration.
By the middle of the 19th century, Americans substituted pumpkins for turnips and secular costumes for those of saints. By the 1920s, there were community efforts to sanitize the carnival spirit and reduce vandalism. Trick-or-treating became common around 1940. It further transformed Halloween into a rite of consumerism and moving the age profile to younger children.
By the middle of the 19th century, Americans substituted pumpkins for turnips and secular costumes for those of saints. By the 1920s, there were community efforts to sanitize the carnival spirit and reduce vandalism. Trick-or-treating became common around 1940. It further transformed Halloween into a rite of consumerism and moving the age profile to younger children.