Saving: The origins of Halloween
October292019
Did you know that Halloween originated from a Celtic festival called Samhain, which celebrated the importance of saving?
For 7 days during Samhain, the Celts celebrated the end of the harvest season, the end of the light half of the year and the beginning of the dark half of the year. The Celts believed that between late October and early November, the boundary between the worlds of the living and dead became very thin. During this time, the spirits of the dead could cross over and freely mingle with the living.
To celebrate, the Celts* dressed up in costumes, and together with Druid priests, they lit huge bonfires and left small gifts called offerings for ghosts and demons in strategic places. Their goal was to distract any harmful spirits and keep them far away from their food and homes. During this time of year, people were afraid that a demon would steal from them or that a witch would burn their fields. Without everything they’d saved—their crops and possessions—the Celts would have faced a bleak winter.
Today, we barter with money instead of food and instead of harvesting for a hard winter, we put money into savings for tough times. Ghost or no ghost, that’s a smart move!
Happy Halloween!