Get to grips with these fascinating unknown spiritual traditions around Halloween, bonfires, witches and more
1. Halloween has Celtic Roots
That’s right and it used to go by the name “Samhain” meaning “Summer’s End” to celebrate the end of harvest season. It was when the spirits would cross over between the living and the dead.
2. Bonfires used to be made from bones
Priests would light fires to commend the end of summer with the light of a fire and sacrifice using cattle bones. Giving birth to the name bone-fire. Or now, bonfire!
3. Witches were Celebrated Wise Women
Stemming from the old English word “Wicce”, these women knew how to naturally heal others using herbs and spices. The cauldron was where they would boil their medicines and they were celebrated on this day before they got their social stigma in the days of witch trial around 1600s.
4. Costumes were for hiding from Ghosts
Long before the film Mean Girls made Halloween ‘cute’, the costumes worn on this day were a way of disguising yourself from the visiting spirits to the human world. People would use masks to confuse spirits
5. Black Cat magic
Black cats have symbolism in many cultures and during Samhain, they were used to tell the future. Nowadays, many cat shelters avoid giving away black cats around Halloween to prevent them from being used for sacrifice
6. Ritual day for Predicting love
Girls in Scotland used to peel an apple line and throw it over their shoulder at midnight. Whichever way the line landed, would show them the first letter of the person they were going to marry! Americans would use apple bobbing
7. Trick or treat Traditions
People used to leave bowls of food outside their homes to ward away the visiting spirits. This tradition used to be known as “souling” and comes from England when the poorer community would knock on doors to pray for the spirits of the home in exchange for some food for the winter months.
Lessons Learnt Daily 