Everyone loves holidays, which is why many festivities of some nationalities easily pass to others. Recently, in Russia, gaining popularity, especially among young people, the holiday Halloween, which came to us from Scotland and Ireland.
One of the most "terrible" holidays of the year is approaching - Halloween - the "holiday of evil spirits". It is celebrated on the eve of All Saints Day, namely on the night of October 31 to November 1. The roots of this holiday go back 2000 years to the Celtic peoples. These tribes had a holiday called Savin - the beginning of the new year, which they celebrated on a large scale. This holiday was mystical, it was believed that on this day evil spirits walk around our world, and also the souls of the dead visit their homes.
The main Halloween attribute is "Jack's lamp" - a pumpkin with empty flesh and eyes and mouth carved on the skin, inside of which there is a burning candle. It was believed that this product scares away evil spirits, so a couple of centuries ago, such lamps could be seen on the windows and doors of almost all houses in Ireland and Scotland. A little later, another tradition appeared in these countries - to dress up in all sorts of outfits, depicting evil spirits, and to go around houses demanding to pay a ransom - "sweet or nasty".
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the fashion to celebrate Halloween began to spread with great speed, but now it is celebrated not only in English-speaking countries, but also in Japan, Australia, Oceania, Russia, etc. As for the date of this holiday, in 2015 it will be from October 31 to November 1. It should be noted that Halloween is not a rolling holiday and is always celebrated on the night from the last day of October to the first day of November.
