Since when do we celebrate Halloween?
The holiday, which is based on playing with evil spirits and dressing up as witches, monsters and vampires, is naturally not to the liking of the church and citizens who profess Orthodoxy. This moment has a negative impact on the pace of expansion of quite interesting traditions. Nevertheless, young people enthusiastically celebrate the “overseas” holiday, because its theatricality allows them to realize their creative impulses.
The holiday began to gradually “penetrate” into Russia after the collapse of the Union, along with a wave of new cultural values that washed over us. The development of Halloween traditions was directly influenced by cinema, which showed Russians how to celebrate this interesting night.
Halloween began to be celebrated on a large scale around the beginning of the 2000s, when the trend of holding themed parties began to emerge in entertainment establishments. Young people really liked the idea of a masquerade, and the holiday became firmly entrenched in the culture.
A brief history of the holiday, the origin of Halloween
Halloween, celebrated on October 31, is the last day of the Celtic calendar. At first it was considered a pagan holiday in honor of those who left our world. Halloween was called All Hallows Eve - hence the name Halloween, and the holiday has been around for about 2000 years!
There are many versions of the origins and ancient traditions of Halloween. Different cultures view the holiday slightly differently, but the traditions of Halloween remain the same.
Halloween culture can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Europe. The origins lie in the celebration of Samhain, where gifts are offered in honor of the dead each year on October 31st.
Halloween 2020 will take place on October 31st
Samhain means "end of summer." Samhain is a harvest festival. People lit huge sacred bonfires to mark the end of the Celtic year and the beginning of a new one. Many of the practices associated with this holiday are steeped in superstition.
The Celts believed that the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were considered friendly, gifts and treats were left to appease evil. This ensured that the harvest would be plentiful in subsequent years.
It was believed that on this day you should not leave your home. And so that the ghosts would not recognize them, people put on costumes and masks, which were made from the skins and heads of killed animals.
history of the holiday
The traditions that form the basis of Halloween have a rich history. It all started when the Celtic tribes began to conquer Europe. Gradually, the traditions of the northerners assimilated with English and French culture. At the end of October, European peasants completed field work and prepared the land for spring; during this period it was also customary to remember deceased ancestors. The Celts believed that on the night of November 1, doors to the other world open, from where the dead come to earth to look at us, and evil spirits break out to harm people as much as possible and even gain a foothold in the real world.
All these beliefs gradually formed into an interesting holiday filled with combined traditions. So, the Celts, in order to scare away evil spirits, dressed up as terrible animals, and only walked the streets in this form. In addition, the pagans sought to “pay off” guests from the other world by displaying harvests and treats on the street.
It was also believed that evil spirits were not able to pass through fire, so fires were lit everywhere, torches and lamps burned. After walking through the streets, the Celts, dressed as animals, gathered in the square and staged noisy celebrations. The pagans jumped over the fires to cleanse themselves and prove to their fellow tribesmen that they were free from otherworldly forces.
The history of the Halloween holiday
First, let's take a short excursion into history. It is not known for certain when this holiday was first celebrated. But most sources (authoritative, by the way) send us back to very distant, pre-Christian times. According to popular belief, this holiday originated with the Celts and was a kind of New Year for them.
In those distant times, the Celts divided the calendar year into two seasons - summer and winter. Actually, summer ended on October 31, and November 1 was the first day of winter. The holiday also had its own name - Samhain.
Then, in the territories where the Celts lived (and this is Northern France, England, Ireland), the influence of Christianity began to increase - this is approximately the 9th century. Samhain was considered a pagan holiday, so the church decided to fight it radically - it “set” All Saints Day on November 1st. But this rather inflamed even more fans of the ancient holiday, and they began to celebrate All Hallows Even - the evening of all Saints. Gradually its name was shortened to Halloween. With this name it has survived to this day, spreading throughout the world.
Halloween came to Moscow in the early nineties - it was from the capital that the “conquest” of the entire country began. This is not to say that literally everyone liked the holiday. But the statistics are inexorable - more and more Russians are celebrating Halloween, with entire families. By the way, there is an opinion that many fell in love with this holiday not only for its surroundings and mystical atmosphere. Many companies and online services offer special discounts for Halloween and hold sales - and we love this thing in our country.
Traditions and customs
If in the West Halloween has become a traditional street holiday, in Russia it is held in the format of closed home or club parties. To create the right atmosphere, all participants should prepare appropriate costumes and make-up, as well as decorate the room:
- hang a “web” of gauze in the corners and walls;
- arrange lighted candles;
- decorate the walls with spiders and bats cut out of black paper;
- decorate the room with pumpkins.
When preparing for Halloween, it would be good to think about the design of the treats: everything should correspond to the overall style. The drink can be tomato juice, reminiscent of blood, as well as cocktails based on it.
Snacks should also be reminiscent of the holiday: they can be made in the shape of spiders, bats, ghosts and jaws. You can run a horror movie in the background.
Halloween symbol
The main symbol of the holiday is Jack's lantern. It is an empty pumpkin with cut out eye sockets, a nose and a mouth. Candles are installed inside the natural lamp, which seem to serve as a guide for lost souls. This traditional pumpkin decoration combines several beliefs: the fire is supposed to scare away evil spirits and at the same time show the way to the souls who return to earth that night to visit us. The pumpkin itself serves as a kind of “alms,” and the scary face is supposed to scare away evil spirits.
Today, few people use Jack's lantern for its intended purpose; it has become not a mystical decoration, but a decorative element without which we cannot imagine Halloween.
Halloween 2020
In order to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the celebration, as well as learn about how Russians will celebrate Halloween 2020, we offer you to take a fascinating information tour prepared by our “holiday” guides.
Origin of Halloween
Contrary to the erroneous opinion of many ordinary people, Halloween has a rather rich and incredibly colorful history, the origins of which go back to ancient times. In fact, it is nothing more than a modern interpretation of the ancient Celtic holiday Samhain.
According to the mystical beliefs of the Celts, who once inhabited the British Isles, most of Ireland and the Northern provinces of France, the calendar year is divided into two equal halves. One of them (from May to October) was associated among these people with a fertile time of light and good, the second - with a period of evil and darkness.
However, this is not the most interesting thing in this story. According to the belief of the Celtic priests, the night from October 31 to November 1 is an invisible boundary between the abodes of angels and demons, for whom in this short period of time access to the world of earthly inhabitants opens.
In order to ward off unclean spirits from their homes, the Celts performed various magical rituals, during which their priests lit fires, dressed in animal skins and made bloody sacrifices to pagan deities.
With the advent of Christianity in Europe, many pagan holidays were eradicated. In the 18th century, the head of the Roman Catholic community, Pope Gregory III, decided to establish a new church holiday - “All Saints' Day”, the celebration of which was scheduled for November 1st. Thus, October 31st received the status of the eve of this holiday. Oddly enough, this event is considered to be the birth of the famous Halloween. The thing is that in English the expression “All Hallows Eve” sounds like All Hallows Eve, which in the shortened version can easily be transformed into Helloween.
Halloween nowadays
Despite the passage of centuries, it was never possible to completely abolish pagan traditions. Today, the holiday continues to be associated not with the Christian All Saints' Day, but with the Celtic beliefs that the night from October 31 to November 1 is a very real “door” between the “light” and “dark” worlds.
Perhaps the only difference between ancient rituals and modern ones was the custom of dressing up not in animal skins, but in the costumes of “movie” ghosts and monsters. Moreover, they are so terrible that any evil spirits, seeing them, will probably run away.
“Western” holiday traditions deserve special attention. In many countries of the world, there is a custom when children, dressed up in creepy masks and costumes, pay a comic visit to their neighbors and acquaintances, “demanding” sweets and other delicacies from them.
As for the “sacred fire”, which scares away evil spirits, it also remained in the traditions of Halloween. Only unlike past times, ritual bonfires have been replaced with lanterns, which are placed inside ominous heads made of pumpkins.
How and on what date is Halloween celebrated?
As mentioned earlier, All Hallows' Eve is celebrated at the same time every year, namely on the night of October 31st to November 1st.
As for our country, Halloween in Russia has not yet had time to acquire characteristic traditions similar to those that exist in the USA and Europe. As a rule, it is celebrated at the club level. Many nightlife establishments in the capital and other cities of our country organize themed costume parties for visitors, the program of which often features popular performers and DJs.
It is also worth noting the ambiguous attitude of representatives of the Orthodox clergy towards Halloween. And this is not at all surprising, because Celtic Samhain is nothing more than a cult pagan holiday, the main message of which directly contradicts the traditional gospel tenets. However, many residents of our country perceive this holiday not as a ritual, but as a secular one. For most Russians, Halloween is just another reason to diversify their leisure time and have fun in the company of friends.
Holiday outfits
Halloween costumes can be anything you want. In this case, everything depends on the flight of fancy and creativity of their author. The enduring trend of the holiday is images of heroes from Hollywood blockbusters and horror films. The most popular options are:
- Frankenstein;
- Count Dracula;
- zombie;
- Batman.
If you want to stay on trend without attracting too much attention, you can opt for the “classic”. A ghost or witch outfit with a pointed hat will come in handy.
Happy Halloween:
Where to go for Halloween in 2020
Halloween celebrations in Russia are currently taking place in a closed format: at themed parties in clubs, cafes and disco bars.
Events are always announced on the official pages of the establishments, where the time of the event, the recommended dress code are indicated, and the program of the night is also prescribed. To decide where and when to celebrate Halloween in 2020 in Russia, you should visit these online sites and study the offers of clubs and cafes.
