Halloween's origins date back to the 5th century and the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). It marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of winter. It was believed that the souls of the dead walked among the living on this night. By the 7th century, the Christians attempted to replace the Celtic holiday by proclaiming November 1 as All Saints Day, to honor saints and martyrs. Yet Halloween lives on in most communities.

If you'd like to read more about the history of Halloween and how our modern customs of this holiday came to be, I've included some links.

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/ Read about the origins of Halloween, check out some spooky recipies, and watch some creepy video clips.

Halloween will be celebrated on the History Channel October 31 with the following programs:

2/3c History's Mysteries: Amityville: Horror or Hoax?
3/4c History's Mysteries: The Real Dracula
4/3c Time Machine: Bloodlines - Dracula Family Tree
5/4c History's Mysteries: Ancient Monster Hunters
6/5c Haunted History Of Halloween
7/6c Haunted History Of Halloween
8/7c Houdini: Unlocking The Mystery
10/9c UFO Files: Russian Roswell
11/10c Weird U.S. Creepy Curses

More Halloween history:
http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm
http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/13587.xml
http://www.halloweenishere.com/history.html

Hope your Halloween is fun and safe!

Labels: Holidays