I love this time of year-the weather cooling-the leaves changing color, harvest time.... I wonder why October is not in the spring or summer. I wonder why Halloween is October 31st. I wonder why we dress up for Halloween and why people give treats. I just wondered why so much I went looking....
October is the month of witches and Halloween, but do you really know the meaning of the word October or where the custom of Halloween comes from?
Our Western calendar retains its Roman origins in the names of the months. October is from octo meaning "eight". (The earliest Latin calendars had only 10 months, September was the 7th month and October was the 8th month.)
It happens that Halloween was originally a Celtic festival for the dead celebrated on the last day of the Celtic year, October 31st. Parts of the Celtic festival for the dead were incorporated into the Christian holiday, All Hallows' Eve. In some parts of the world, it was believed witches and warlocks flew about on the night of All Hallows' Eve. People built big bonfires to protect against these evil spirits.
Pranks by children replaced the evil spirits in the 19th century. Treats were given to ward off the pranksters. So this Halloween, be sure you have an extra big bowl of treats for those spirits.
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