When did Halloween Start - Pagan Festival Without Costumes not Nude

All Halloweens early shenanagins again be directly related to the Irish, and to be more exact, The Druids. Yes it is indeed a fact, Halloween, that fun filled time of pumpkins and bags of goodies, bonfires and ghosties, and things that go bump in the night, again be laid on the very doorstep, of the Irish, but not just the Irish folk, no, this practice was an actual rite and ritual of the Druids, the priests of the old Irish. This was during the dark period before the Romans colonised the world.

So, you my good friends are actually celebrating this Halloween, are now taking part in rituals, that have been clouded in the very mists of time and antiquity, these rituals now have had urban legends and ghastly stories added and attached. This has only served to make the rituals more obscure and mysterious.

What is known, is that the druids, in avoiding suffering the same fate as all enimies of the Roman Empire, moved from one Sacred Place to another and took there lore and writings, moved across from Breton to Gaul and crossed the Engish Channel and rounded up their following from Stonehenge, Scotland Wales and Cornwell, crossed over to Ireland and spread themselves across the Emerald Isle, where they wandered and taught throughout the eons of time, to the present day, if the legends are to be believed.

Yes, Halloween, is most definatly a Pagan festival. It was Commandeered by the early Christians, around 843 ad, in order for them to actually be a part of the celebrations, yet using this guise for their own purposes.

It was a necessity for them to do this, in order for them to survive, else they would have been part of the pagan rituals in a very intimate way and ceased to exists, had this happened the Christian faith would have died long before 843AD, actually it would have ceased probably by about 40AD, when feeding the lions in the circus, with a Christians as well as perceived other enemies of the state, was the going entertainment and or practice, depending on how you see it.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (Irish pronunciation: [ˈsˠaunʲ]; from the Old Irish samain).^[1] The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes ^[2] regarded as the "Celtic New Year".^[3] Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.^[4][5]

The early Christians, having as I have already stated by necessity cloaked any of their celebrations which, was in all probability, one of those that paralled with one of their Roman gods festival, which in actual fact was an original druidic festival to celebrated the beginning of winter. It was a convenient 2 day and a night festivial.

All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day

This is what the the early Christians celebrated while pretending to observe the Roman equivelent.

All Saints Day

Is when all practicising Roman Catholic and Anglicans attend a special service in which the Litany of the Saints is proclaimed, it has a special order of service as well as a specific responses.

This includes all the Saints Martyrs and Prophets.

All Hallows Eve

Again a special church service with specific office and riuals, a time of reflection and penance.

All Souls Day

Again a special service to put to rest the souls of all of those people who have died since the previousyear. Again a specific order of service and rituals with their specific office.

This is an abbreviated or laymens overview of the service, as practised by the Christian faith.

As you can see the direct correlation between the two festivals, rites or whatever you want to call it. How neatly this dovetails the festivities of the Celtic New Year or Samhain!

The need and necessity for these festivities in early Roman Times

Like, what we as civilised man, would in reflection, view as another excuse for drunken wild debouchery, was a good way for the Powers that be to arrest, and eliminate all trouble makers, rabble roasers, as well as any other undesirables characters!

This is also one of the Major Satan's Sabat and like all good satanists, they like there opposts, the Christians, too needed to cloakthere activities, as they were also targeted as lion food or javalin practice for the star Gladiators.

Human and Animal Sacrifices

On Halloween, for thousands of years, druid priests have supposedly conducted diabolical worship ceremonies in which cats, horses, sheep, oxen, human beings and other offerings were rounded up, stuffed into wicca cages and burned to death.

These human and animal sacrifices or offerings, were apparently required to appease Samhain and keep the spirits from harming them.

Trick or Treat

To obtain these sacrifices, druid priests would go from house to house asking for fatted calves, black sheep and human beings. Those who gave were promised prosperity, and those who refused to give were threatened and cursed. This is the origin of "trick or treat."

Jack-O-Lantern

The Jack-O-Lantern has its origin in the candle-lit pumpkin or skull, which served as a signal to mark those farms and homes that supported the druids' religion, and thus were seeking the "treat" when the terror of Halloween began.

Dance of Death

While people and animals were screaming in agony, being burnt to death, the druids and their followers would dress in costumes made of animal skins and heads.

They would dance, chant and jump through the flames in the hope of warding off evil spirits.

Is it not a way too have a bonfire and dance covort and partake in sexual congress without the iminent fear of arrest.

South Africa, having been a strong Calvinistic ruled country for so long never really took up the practice of Trick or Treating type jollities involved in the celebration of Halloween.

How ever we do try and keep our poor cats under lock and key, especially the black ones!

So in prepartion for that festival, I do nothing!