Christmas is almost here! But first we do have to dress up for Halloween. Do you know where Halloween comes from?
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Last week we have been told about some spooky bingo games. Today I want to tell all the players at Bingo.com where Halloween comes from and why such activities are on the macabre night, October 31st.
How did Halloween start?
Once upon a time, there is thousands years ago. The Celts, in where we know now as the Great Britain and France, celebrated the New year on November 1st and therefore were starting the festivities the night before on Oct. 31st. They took this night really seriously. The priests would dedicate the night to Samhain, the knight of the death. Big bonfires were lit up and sometimes humans and horses were sacrificed to chase the witches and bad spirits away, because at this period it was believed that dead people used to come back for the Samhain night to ask for food and scare the villagers, and that’s where the term "Trick or Treat" comes from.
The Church made some changes.
The priests didn't like too much the idea that some people could adore Samhain or Pomona (name of the goddess of fruits or fruits trees in the Roman mythology), so the Romans would celebrate the harvest around October 31st. They made it a day for everyone to be celebrate and they named All the Saints day; in England they called it "All Hallows Day" and the night before has been called "All Hallows Eve", which gave us "Halloween". This celebration eventually reached the United States and it was brought by the pioneers, It has been accepted as a tradition with people dressing up in costumes and telling scary stories. But it was only in 1840 that the celebration became well known; by the time the Irish arrived to the USA. They had added the "Jack-o-lantern" because of a legend about a Jack who couldn’t enter to Heaven or Hell nobody could bear him, so he was wandering with a lantern that the devil had given to him and was searching on ways to go to Heaven or Hell. However it was in 1921 that Halloween was celebrated with the first Halloween Parade in Minnesota. Halloween spread around the word during the 80's.
Now we all know where Halloween came from. Do you have any idea about the costume you are going to wear? Are you going to decorate the house like a spooky castle full of spider webs? Share some Halloween costumes ideas with your bingo friends while chatting online and playing a game of bingo. I will definitely disguise myself, may be like a bingo card!!!
