Is it true that Halloween is celebrating witchcraft?

1. 67

   ronhiposted 12 years ago

   Is it true that Halloween is celebrating witchcraft?
   
   I saw a blog that explained the origin of Halloween and argued that the holiday is a way of celebrating witchcraft so am wondering if that's true? Any hub out there that addresses this?

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2. 80

   asmaiftikharposted 12 years ago

   i dont think so that is just a beautiful myth .

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3. 60

   joejagodenskyposted 12 years ago

   Halloween celebrates the living and dead coming together before the winter's cold.  The "trick of treat" element was designed to rid your home of bad thoughts or demons in order to be safe while the house is closed in during the winter months.  The Catholic Church uses this day to honor saints on one day and all those who've died on the next day.  There's a unifying feeling to the day.

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4. 73

   lburmasterposted 12 years ago

   Halloween was thought of as a celebration of the coming fall until people began joking about the holiday. With a mixture of the Catholic point of view, it was turned into a mixture of sorts. It is a combination of life and death, tricks or treats, and costumes. Because the fall is also a symbol of the coming of darkness for shorter days, the view became quite dark. Highly christian families often believe halloween is a horrible holiday that celebrates evil. Because of this they do not usually offer candy and have no decorations at their homes. In their view, it is just another day.
   Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic  and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children's holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.

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5. 77

   agagliaposted 12 years ago

   Halloween is the modern version of "all hallows eve" when folks pay tribute to their dead relatives.
   In Mexico it is called Day of the Dead and special cakes and breads are made, then they bring their treats to the graveyard and have a meal over their dead relatives' graves.
   sounds more like a picnic, doesn't it?

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