The ancient Celtic peoples used to perform a great ceremony to commemorate “the end of the harvest.” This celebration occurred at the end of October. This festival was baptized with the Gaelic word “Samhain”. (The etymological meaning is “the end of summer”.) This is because during this celebration they said goodbye to Lugh, god of the Sun. 🌞

The Celts inhabited various regions of Ireland, England, Scotland, and France. This holiday marked the time when the days were getting shorter and the nights longer. The Celts, like many pre-Hispanic cultures, believed that in Samhain the spirits of the dead returned to visit the mortal world. 👻

The Celtic year ended on October 31, in the fall, whose main characteristic is the fall of the leaves. For them it meant the end of death or the initiation of a new life. This teaching spread through the years from generation to generation. 👹

The custom was to leave food and sweets outside their houses as an offering. 🍬🍭

On the other hand, it was common to light candles to help the souls of the dead find their way to light and rest alongside Lugh. 🕯

On the other hand, on the night of October 31, rituals were also performed. These had a purifying character to dismiss the year. With the rise of Catholicism, this pagan festival became Christianized, and began to be called “All Saints’ Eve”. The English translation is, “All Hallow’s Eve”, hence the word “Halloween” was born. 🎃

With the European immigration to the United States, mainly that of the Irish Catholics in 1846, this tradition arrived on the American continent. On October 31 at night, in countries of Anglo-Saxon culture or of Celtic heritage, the eve of the All Saints festival is celebrated, with a whole set to remember the ancestors. 💀