To celebrate Halloween, children dressed as cute ghosts and goblins knock on doors door to door, asking for candy or else they will go trick-or-treating. At the same time, legend has it that on this night, ghosts and goblins dressed up as children mix with the masses to celebrate Halloween, while humans dress up as ghosts and goblins in order to make the ghosts and goblins get along better.
Halloween in English is All Saints Day, also known as "All Saints' Day", one of the festivals of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, is a traditional holiday in Western countries. In Chinese-speaking areas, All Saints' Eve is often mistakenly referred to as Halloween. "Hallow" comes from the Middle English halwen, which is very close to the word holy, and in some areas of Scotland and Canada, All Saints' Day is still called "All Hallow Mas". On that day, a Mass was celebrated to celebrate all the saints (Hallow) in heaven. Nowadays, for the sake of commercial interests or other purposes, society organizes all kinds of activities full of monsters and ghosts on the night of October 31st, which completely deviates from the sacred meaning of Halloween.
More than two thousand years ago, the Christian Church in Europe designated November 1 as "the day of the world's saints" (All Hallows' Day). "Hallow" means saints. Legend has it that the Celts, who lived in Ireland and Scotland since 500 B.C., moved the holiday forward one day, to October 31st. They considered that day to be the official end of summer, the beginning of the New Year and the start of the harsh winter. It was believed that the spirits of the dead would return to their homelands on this day to find life in the living and regenerate themselves, and that this was the only hope for regeneration after death. The living are afraid that the spirits of the dead will come to take over their lives, so people extinguish the fire and candles on this day so that the spirits of the dead cannot find the living, and dress themselves up as demons and ghosts to scare the spirits of the dead away. Afterward, they would rekindle the fires and candles again to start a new year.
Originally, Halloween was actually a holiday that praised fall, just as May Day was a celebration of spring. The ancient priests of Gaul, Britain and Ireland, the Druids, had a great festival in praise of autumn that lasted all day from midnight on October 31st to the following day, November 1st. They believed that on that night their great god of death, Saman, summoned all the ghosts of those who had died that year, and that these evil spirits were to be punished by being consigned to animal life. Surely the mere thought of such a ghostly gathering was enough to frighten the simple-minded fools of the day. So they lit sky-high bonfires and kept a close watch on these evil spirits. That's how the saying that there were witches and ghosts everywhere on the night before Halloween began. To this day there are people in certain isolated parts of Europe who believe this to be true.
The ancient Romans also had a festival on November 1 that was used to honor their goddess Pomona. They roasted nuts and apples in front of a roaring bonfire. Our Halloween seems to be a blend of the ancient Romans' holiday and the Druids' holiday.
The activities of Halloween turned out to be very simple, and most of them took place in churches. But throughout Europe, people saw the night before Halloween as a chance to have fun, tell ghost stories and scare each other. So instead of celebrating the fall, it became a festival of gods, monsters, witches and ghosts.
Holiday Customs
Trick or Treat
The night before Halloween is the most "haunted" time of the year, with all sorts of ghosts, pirates, extraterrestrial visitors and witches. Before the time of Christ, the Celts held late summer ceremonies to thank the gods and the sun for their bounty. The soothsayers of the time lit and practiced witchcraft to ward off the demons that were said to be roaming around. Later the Roman harvest festival, celebrated with nuts and apples, merged with the Celtic October 31st.
In the Middle Ages, people dressed up in animal-shaped costumes and scary masks in an attempt to ward off the ghosts and goblins of the night on the eve of Halloween. Although Christianity later replaced Celtic and Roman religious practices, the early customs have survived. Children dressed up in costumes and masks with a sense of humor and attended Halloween dances, which were often surrounded by papier-mâché witches, black cats, ghosts and skeletons on the walls, and grinning or repulsive pumpkin lanterns hanging in front of windows and doorways.
On the eve of Halloween, children carry pumpkin lanterns and dress up in all sorts of weird and wacky costumes and go from house to house asking for candy, saying "trick or treat" over and over again. If you don't give them candy, the kids get angry and punish you by dumping garbage in your house until you give them candy.
Traditionally people would dress up as elves and go from house to house pleading for food. The belief is to give the spirits worship and food to please them, otherwise the spirits will play tricks on them, such as clogging chimneys, losing sheep and cows, and having yellow sprouts thrown at them. Another way to fool or frighten away the spirits is to dress up like them, which they believe will prevent them from harming them.
Halloween Masks
Since the 17th century, the tradition of celebrating All Saints' Day has faded in southern England, replaced by the Gunpowder Plot commemorated on November 5th. However, Halloween is still celebrated in Scotland, Ireland and Northern England. It wasn't until the early 21st century that Halloween was celebrated again in Southern England, only in a completely Americanized way.
The most popular game on the eve of Halloween was "Bite the Apple". During the game, people let the apple float in a basin filled with water, and then let the children use their mouths to bite the apple without using their hands, and whoever bites it first is the winner.
Halloween originates from the ancient Celtic New Year's festivals, and it is also a time for sacrificing to the spirits of the dead, avoiding the interference of evil spirits, and offering food to the spirits of the ancestors and the good spirits in order to pray for a safe passage through the harsh winter. On that night, children dress up in costumes and masks and go door-to-door collecting candy.
Although the origins of Halloween and the new energy car charger may not seem directly related, both are associated with the transition between the past and the future. Halloween, as a traditional holiday, represents people's remembrance and celebration of the past, while the new energy car charger represents people's concern and efforts for the future. The connection between these two concepts is that they both focus on the development and change of human society and try to find better solutions to meet the challenges of the real world.
They both reflect the evolution and development of human society. Halloween reminds us to remember the traditions and values of the past, while New Energy Vehicle Charger encourages us to actively embrace the changes and innovations of the future. Whether we celebrate Halloween or focus on new energy vehicle chargers, we should all realize the connection between the past and the future and strive for a more sustainable, clean and prosperous future.
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