... Halloween was not always just an excuse for most women to dress like slutty [insert any animal, occupation or mythical creature]. Before I address the request, which lest we forget was "What are the origins of Halloween?" I would like to rant briefly on the topic of why we transform a bumble bee into a striped tube dress that barely covers the butt and a headband with antennae. What about the cat (which equates -in female terminology- to a pleather skintight jumpsuit and a headband with ears). And what's with the witch? Would an ugly, old hag really be caught prancing about in a black mini skirt, usually ratty to the point where nothing about the female body is left to the imagination? I think not. Besides, if we go back to early conceptions of the witch, she wouldn't even be able to get her rear end into a mini skirt with the haunches and legs of a hoofed animal. I rest my case.

In fact, if someone else would like to respond to my request for a post on how a Celtic festival of harvest went from just that to an excuse for everyone from teenagers to adult women (who should be ashamed of themselves for trying to pull off a tube dress in the first place) to dress as sluts... I would be much obliged.

Just look at what these women did to childrens' fairy tale characters. The woman on the right (who unfortunately falls into the perhaps a bit too... well something.... to pull of this costume) is desecrating Alice in Wonderland. And the woman on the left appears to be the wicked witch from Snow White (again, NOT exactly what the surprisingly attractive witch from Snow White was going for with her original costume).

On second glance, perhaps the girl on the left is actually some sort of vampire. But you see what I mean?! There's not enough fabric to tell!

I promise I'm done with my rant.

This is much more like it no? This is a painting depicting All Saints Day. That would be the Catholic Church's answer to a pagan festival (Celtic in origin- it was called Samhain) that was celebrated around the same time as the harvest. All Saint's day is obviously more recent that Samhain, and we'll delve into some of the details of Samhain soon, but let's focus on All-hallow-even (that's where the name Halloween comes in). It was originally a pagan festival, that is until Popes Gregory the III and IV moved there own religious holiday, a Christian Feast, from May to November 1st. The Catholic church did this frequently to covertly incorporate pagan traditions into their own religious calendar. Easier to convert, I guess. I have no qualms with that.

Now for the fun, older part. Samhain.

Also known as the Celtic New Year... some say. That particular notion was contested by some scholars. The Samhain celebrations have survived in several guises as a festival dedicated to the harvest and the dead.

The night of Samhain is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, and falls on the 31st of October and represents the final harvest. In modern Ireland and Scotland, the name by which Halloween is known in the Gaelic language is still Oíche/Oidhche Shamhna. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast, and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night.

Traditionally, Samhain was the time to take stock of the herds and grain supplies, and decide which animals would need to be slaughtered in order for the people and livestock to survive the winter. Bonfires played a big part in the rites celebrated up through the present day in some rural areas. Villagers were said to have cast the bones of the slaughtered cattle upon the flames. Masks were worn (possibly to protect from the stench of rotting flesh etc...) and costumes were worn as well, as a sort of attempt to mimic the evil spirits that were said to be still looming around halfway between dead and alive, in order to appease them.

Here's a little something from Wikipedia on the Samhain Festival:

In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the primary unit of currency and the center of agricultural and pastoral life. Samhain was the traditional time for slaughter, for preparing stores of meat and grain to last through the coming winter. The word 'bonfire', or 'bonefire' is a direct translation of the Gaelic tine cnámh. With the bonfire ablaze, the villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well. Divination is a common folkloric practice that has also survived in rural areas. The most common uses were to determine the identity of one's future spouse, the location of one's future home, and how many children a person might have. Seasonal foods such as apples and nuts were often employed in these rituals. Apples were peeled, the peel tossed over the shoulder, and its shape examined to see if it formed the first letter of the future spouse's name. Nuts were roasted on the hearth and their movements interpreted - if the nuts stayed together, so would the couple. Egg whites were dropped in a glass of water, and the shapes foretold the number of future children. Children would also chase crows and divine some of these things from how many birds appeared or the direction the birds flew.