| Americans has become one of America's
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| | their return the next year. Costumes of
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| favorite holidays. Last year Americans
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| | animals were worn to represent the
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| spent more than $3 billion last year on
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| | creatures of the forest that had blessed
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| Halloween candy, costumes, pumpkins and
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| | them that year. At the end of the
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| decorations. Millions of children (and
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| | ceremony, each family would take home an
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| adults!) look forward to this happy
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| | ember to light their own winter hearth
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| event.But it hasn't always been so. Once
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| | fires.Christianity came to the British
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| upon a time, Halloween was a night to be
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| | Isles somewhere around the second century
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| feared, when the dead walked the
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| | AD. One of the tactics of early
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| earth.The history of our modern Halloween
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| | missionaries was to make Christianity
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| begins with an ancient Celtic holiday
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| | more palatable by incorporating local
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| called Samhain (pronounced sow-en). The
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| | customs into Christian practice. For
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| Celts lived in present day Ireland and
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| | example, early missionaries were willing
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| England dating to about the 5th Century
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| | to abandon the stricture that converts
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| BC.For the Celts, Samhain marked the end
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| | first become Jews when they ran across
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| of summer. The date is generally given as
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| | cultural barriers, and it is thought that
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| October 31, but it is unlikely that is
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| | the date of Christmas was selected to
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| the exact date.For the Celts, as for many
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| | coincide with a Germanic winter
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| ancient peoples, the end of summer was an
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| | festival.As the story goes, the Celts
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| event viewed with dread. Summer
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| | were unwilling to give up their summer
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| represented a time of warmth and
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| | festival, so the missionaries simply
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| plentiful food; with winter the nights
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| | incorporated it.In the 700s, Pope
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| became longer, and food was scarce. And
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| | Boniface IV set November 1 as All Hallows
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| for the superstitious mind, long nights
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| | -- or All Saints -- Day. The previous
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| were accompanied by unwelcome
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| | night was thus known as All Hallows Eve.
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| spirits.Much of what has been written
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| | November 2 became All Souls Day, to honor
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| about Celtic religion about Celtic
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| | the souls of the dead. The three days
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| religion is the product of the writers'
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| | together were called Hallow Mass.And All
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| vivid imagination. Despite the legends,
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| | Hallows Eve became Halloween.It is widely
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| it's highly unlikely that the Celts
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| | believed that Boniface IV did this to
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| sacrificed virgins in burning wicker
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| | co-opt the pagan Celtic holdouts into
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| cages, and they probably didn't dance
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| | Christianity.Halloween arrived in North
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| naked around Stonehenge.Most reputable
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| | America with the early colonists.
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| historians agree on one of two
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| | However, because of the Puritan influence
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| stories.According to one, the Celts
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| | in New England, it was mostly confined to
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| believed that Samhain was the night on
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| | the Scots-Irish of the Southern
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| which the spirits of the dead were
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| | Colonies.Colonial Halloweens were
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| permitted to return to Earth to find a
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| | celebrated as Harvest Festivals, with
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| body to posess. To avoid this unpleasant
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| | lots of eating and drinking, music,
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| fate, the superstitious Celts tried two
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| | dancing, ghost stories and fortune
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| tricks: First, they would douse all of
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| | telling. (All of these were things that
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| the hearth fires in their village, to
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| | were disapproved of in Puritan New
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| trick the spirits into thinking that no
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| | England. Some more of our modern
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| one was home. Then, they would don
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| | Halloween symbols were introduced at this
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| costumes to fool the spirits and wander
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| | time, as traditions were blended with
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| about in the dark. The real spirits,
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| | Native American harvest festivals. Corn
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| thinking that the village already was
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| | stalks and pumpkins - unknown in Europe
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| haunted, would then contine on their
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| | before the discovery of North America -
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| journey.Three of the modern Halloween
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| | became part of Halloween imagery.But
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| fixtures are said to come from this
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| | Halloween really arrived in America with
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| legend: Ghosts (spirits of the dead)
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| | the massive Irish immigration of the
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| costumes and dark, empty houses.To mark
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| | 1840s. The Irish brought their Celtic
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| the end of the night, the villagers then
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| | Halloween traditions with them and wove
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| would relight all of their hearth fires
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| | them into the fabric of American
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| from a sacred bonfire built by their
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| | society.More on the history of Halloween
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| priests, the Druids.A more gruesome
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| | can be found at Top Halloween Links at
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| version says that part of the bonfire
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| | Retzer has worked as a professional
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| ceremony involved the ignition of a
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| | journalist, photographer, editor, public
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| young, innocent village girl. This,
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| | relations professional and golf coach. He
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| however, is more likely Hollywood than
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| | currently teaches economics, political
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| history.The second version of the Celtic
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| | science and history. In his "spare time"
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| holiday says that they celebrated the end
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| | he runs several websites and blogs,
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| of summer with a huge bonfire. Animals
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| | including Top Halloween Links at and
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| and crops would be burned in the fire to
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| | Golf Blogger at article is derived from
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| give thanks for the summer, and to ensure
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| | his lectures on the History of Halloween.
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