Google Halloween Logo

by yinyin on 2008-10-31 11:32:43

In Western countries, every October 31st there is a "Halloween," which dictionaries define as "The eve of All Saints' Day" and is translated into Chinese as "万圣节之夜." Halloween is a traditional holiday in Western countries. This night is the most "haunted" night of the year, so it is also called "Ghost Festival."

More than two thousand years ago, the Catholic Church in Europe designated November 1st as "All Saints' Day" (ALL HALLOWS DAY). "HALLOW" means saint. According to legend, since 500 BC, the Celts (CELTS) living in Ireland and Scotland moved this festival forward by one day to October 31st. They believed that this day was the official end of summer, the beginning of the new year, and the start of the harsh winter. At that time, people believed that the spirits of the deceased would return to their former homes on this day to seek out living souls for regeneration, providing the only hope for rebirth after death. The living, fearing that the dead spirits would take their lives, would extinguish their fires and candles on this day so that the dead spirits could not find them. They would also dress up as demons and ghosts to scare away the spirits of the dead. Afterwards, they would reignite their fires and candles, starting a new year of life. It was also said that the Celtic tribes had the custom of sacrificing living people on October 31st to honor the dead.

By the 1st century AD, the Romans who occupied the lands of the Celtic tribes gradually accepted the customs of Halloween but abolished the barbaric practice of burning people alive to sacrifice to the dead. The Roman harvest festival combined with the Celtic rituals, where wearing terrifying masks and dressing up as animals or ghosts was meant to drive away the wandering demons around them. This is the origin of why most people around the world today celebrate Halloween by dressing up in quirky and spooky costumes. Over time, the meaning of Halloween gradually changed, becoming more positive and joyful, with celebratory connotations becoming the mainstream. The notion of dead souls seeking substitutes to return to the world has also been gradually abandoned and forgotten. Today, images and symbols representing Halloween, such as witches and black cats, mostly have friendly, cute, and humorous faces.