Happy Halloween
Origin of Halloween
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Originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain 2,000 years ago

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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.

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On the night of October 31 the Celts believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth
Pumpkins
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Jack o'lanterns also originated from the Celts

On All Hallows Eve, the ancient Celtic culture would carve turnips and place a hot ember inside to
ward off evil spirits
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Punkins
Costumes
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During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and
attempted to tell each other's fortunes

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This is why we wear costumes today
Classic Costumes
Scaring
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Because the Celts associated All Hallows Eve with human death we evolved Halloween to be a
scary holiday

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We celebrate this by decorating our house, watching scary movies, and going “haunted” houses
Movies
Trick-or-Treating
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Halloween custom of trick-or-treating on October 31 and the Medieval practices of "mumming" and
"going a-souling" on All Souls Day. Mumming took the form of souling entailed going door to door
and offering prayers for the dead in exchange for treats, particularly "soul cakes."
Candy
Friday 13th
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According to historians, on Friday, October 13th, 1307;
King Philip IV of France ordered the killing of thousands of the Knights Templar on accusations of
heresy, resulting in the executions of more than a hundred of the Crusades warriors.
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The theory of this as the superstition's origin appeared in Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci
Code."
Friday 13th
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The Knights Templar cross has four equal sides,

standing for equality between male and female,
unlike the Christian cross
Spiders
Citations
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween
http://www.history.com/topics/jack-olantern-history
http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-trick-or-treating
http://www.thetruthaboutdavinci.com/faq/october-13-friday.html

Halloween 4