Origin of Halloween - Informative Speech Topic

The Origin of Halloween dates back thousands of years ago to the time of the Celts and has come about from the culmination of different influences.

Giving a public speaking presentation about the origin of Halloween is a great informative speech topic. Use the facts below and some great Halloween words to impress your audience.

The Origin of Halloween - The Facts

Historical Influences

Halloween is a culmination of different cultural influences over many centuries, particularly

Celtic festival of Samhain
Roman's Pomona Day
Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days.

Celtic festival Samhain

(pronounced 'sow-en')

Celebrated at the end of the harvest season.
Evening 31st October - Northern Hemisphere
Evening 30th April – Southern Hemisphere

Beltane is the festival to celebrate the beginning of Summer.

At Samahin the Celts would assess their stocks and herds. Deciding what animals they required for the coming ‘dark’ months, and which animals they should slaughter.

Slaughtered and sacrificed animals would be thrown in the burning flames of a bonfire (the word comes from ‘bone fire’).

During Samhain there would be one huge sacred bonfire, usually burning on top of a hill. All other fires, including family fires, had to be extinguished. The following morning the villagers would take embers from this common source to relight their own fires that would keep their homes warm and free from evil spirits for the following year.

‘Summers End’ was believed to be a supernatural time, when there was no division between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Celts believed evil spirits and ghosts could be anywhere and were able to cause trouble and crop damage.

To prevent being recognised by the spirits they thought were roaming the earth, the Celts would dress up in frightening costumes and disguises to blend in with the ghosts.

Wearing animals skins and heads they would dance around, making loud noises to frighten any evilness away.

Food would be left out to appease the ghosts, and roaming souls.

Roman's Pomona Day

When the Romans invaded the Celtic land, they brought with them their own customs and traditions, which they blended in with the festival of Samhain.

They celebrated the feast of the Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, on November 1st.

They believed the apple symbolised love and fertility and they had many rituals involving apples.

Today, many children still play these apples traditions and it is the most likely explanation for the origin of apple bobbing that is practice at Halloween.

Aside

The name Pomona also features in the J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The teacher of herbology (the study of magical plants) is called Pomona Sprout.

Christian Holidays All Saints and All Souls Days.

To stop the practicing of pagan traditions, the Christians attempted to transform the festivals into a Christian holiday.

November 2nd became All Souls Day- a day to remember the dead, but in prayer rather than sacrifice.

November 1st became Hallows Day- a day to remember the Saints.

‘Souling’ took place on 1 Nov. This is when poor folk would go begging door to door for pastries (square pieces of bread with currants) in return for prayer offerings for the dead on All Souls Day.

The practice of 'Souling’ originated in Ireland and Britain, there is no evidence yet that it ever occurred in America. This, combined with the Celts food appeasement, probably formed the foundation for the tradition of trick or treating.