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The costumes
« Virtually all of our Halloween customs today can be traced
to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Each of Halloween's many mysterious customs have a history, or at least a story, behind it. The wearing of costumes for instance and the roaming from door-to-door demanding
treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of Christianity when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and around,
along withfairies, witches and demons. Food and
drink were left to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing as these dreadful creatures and performing antics in exchange
for offerings of food and drink.
This practice, called mumming, evolved into our present Trick or Treat. To this day, witches, ghosts and
skeleton figures of the dead are among the favorite disguises. The practice of wearing masks and outfits to represent
these evil creatures are universal in the human experience. From the Indians of America to China - in all inhabited
areas of the earth - traditions exist in which individuals who dress to represent a god or demon are imbued with
supernatural powers and often given presents or beneficial treatment. There is a reason for this. Idols
and masks of idols represent something! » 14
Mostly Halloween comes from a lot of different traditions, but it signifies the celebration of the dead. People wear
costumes trying to "scare" those evil spirits. You know, when I was younger I always
wondered why we had all those ugly costumes, because I thought that Halloween was a happy celebration
having fun and a lot of candies, but now I know why it's related with death
and evil! It is no wonder that we have horror movie specials during these weekends (I'm talking about movies
like Halloween I, II, III, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street , etc.) Did you ever ask yourselves why? Samhain has changed
over time it is now called Halloween,
but the meaning is the same it's still a "celebration" of the dead.
In our modern time Halloween is
still associated with death and that is why you will see costumes such as Dracula, vampires, ugly witches, R.I.P. tombs, fake blood, monsters, and so on… Witches and other occult groups will wear their ritual costumes to perform their evil deeds (they wear
costumes on that day and during other "celebrations").
« During the original
Celtic festival of Samhain, people sometimes wore costumes made of animal heads and skins. In
later celebrations, when these people (known as guisers) went house to house singing and dancing, their
blood-curding masks may have been used to keep evil at bay. Or they may have been the portrayal of the ghosts and goblins that
everyone believed were lurking in the night. People begged for food in a parade that honored a god called
Muck Olla. The leader of the parade wore a white robe and a mask made from the head of an animal. » 15
« The wearing of masks and
costumes also came from the druids.
During that night of rituals, they sacrificed animals (and humans). Often they wore the skins of these animals. Dressed
in this way, they would engage in fortune telling. Villagers also dressed in hideous masks and costumes in an effort to
disguise themselves from the spirits. » 16 Those people were so afraid that they dressed up like them, to try to put confusion,
that the spirits would think they were one of them!!!
To conclude, the dressing up was not for the
people, but for because of their superstition's beliefs, they thought that they had to do different rituals
that they might not come into their house and do something bad. You know in these times people were not as
learned as we are today, so they believe almost anything that is why the Bible says: « My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… » Hosea 4:6.
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