I absolutely love searching for interesting tidbits of history about Halloween and things that are witchy, spooky and spine tingling! So what with Halloween coming up very soon what better way to start celebrating then doing a bloggy post with some ghoulishly fabulous facts and folklore and of course pictures! If you get a chance hop on your broom stick {I know you secretly ride about your living room on yours!! ...giggle...} and check out our Opulent Parlor Collection full of Wicked Temptations and Curiosities!
The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even (“evening“), that is, the night before All Hallows Day .Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (ealra hālgena mæssedæg, mass-day of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556. via
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). (I just love how it rolls off my tongue!!) The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. via
Check out these awesome pics! I WANT this book!! "Libatius Borage's Advanced Potion Making!"...is that beyond cool or what? “Witch” comes from the Saxon word wicca which means ‘wise one’. Witches were thought to be wise enough to tell the future.
Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. (Spooky!!) on the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. via
The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. (Hmmm, how batty!) These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween.
Masks and consumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them. via
Here's another fact! Instead of pumpkins we could be carving turnips!! Turnips, people, turnips!! Irish immigrants would carve turnips to celebrate the holiday but when they arrived here, tada pumpkins were everywhere....thank goodness! Can you just imagine carved turnips in front of your house every Samhain? {eyebrows raised}
In Greek Mythology, goddesses of the underworld were often used to invoke the Samhain. Popular costumes portray Hecate and Medusa. Hecate was the most favored goddess by Zeus, and wandered the emptiness between the worlds of life and death looking for souls of the dead. Both were considered serpent goddesses, and their ancient dark legends spawned myths such as vampires, who fed off the living using venom and snake-like fangs. Ritualistic dress includes snake adornments and three headed masks. Today, Hecate is often referred to as the goddess of witches. via
Those are just the tip of the iceberg of course! So many more wonderful facts out there to let you peeps know about so keep your peepers peeled on our Twitter or Facebook account darlings. You never know what fascinating juicy bit of information we'll be posting about! *wink*
Spooky exit..... fog rolls in and POOF!!....turns into a bat and flys off! lol...okay, not really, but it would have been impressive if I had wouldn't it? ... giggle...
Happy Spooks & Scares Sunday sweeties!
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