Modern societies celebrate Halloween holiday on October 31, and some of the common activities involved during these celebrations include apple bobbing, watching horror movies and costume parties. The history behind this holiday however shows that there exist several misconceptions in the modern society as it regards to the origin of this holiday. As a result, modern societies have considerably distorted and lost the meaning and focus of this holiday. These misconceptions are; first, the days of celebrating the holiday, second, the activities involved across the different societies during the celebrations, and finally, controversy that exist in the contemporary history on the topic.
The celebration days for this holiday vary in different parts of the world. Historically, there is no particular date to when the ancient societies celebrated the holiday Most of the ancient societies celebrated Halloween at the end of summer. Since seasons vary all over the world, it is a misconception for the modern world to celebrate the holiday on October 31. History also shows that the celebrations took place during the festival of the dead. Scholars and contemporary historians have not been able to state or determine the exact date of the celebration. Therefore, it is a misconception to believe that October 31 is the day of celebration.
Activities involved during the celebrations of this holiday do not conform to those in the historical times. During the ancient times, the celebrations involved dressing up in special costumes, children activities such as trick-treat and telling scary stories. People wore the special costumes to model the spiritual and supernatural images. With the spread of Christianity such modeling rarely occurs. Other activities included bob for candy apples, carve jack lanterns among others. During those times, Halloween existed as a purely religious holiday. Towards the start of 20th century, these activities changed to majorly watching horror films, although some parts of the world such as Ireland still practice trick-treat activities. Therefore, celebration of Halloween has lost its religious connotation and has become more secular in the modern world.
Finally, there exist contradicting views among the contemporary scholars on the historical background and origin of this holiday. While some historians identify Samhain (Celtic festival) as the origin of Halloween, others trace its origin to Pomona, the Feast of Roman. Other historians argue that the holiday originated from Britain, particularly from Old Irish. Controversy also exists in the origin of the term, Halloween. Most modern scholars believe that Halloween originated from Scotland since the term dates back to 16th century in Scotland. On contrary, other historians argue that England was the origin of the holiday since, a similar term All Hallows Eve existed in ancient England. These controversies evidence the misconceptions that exist in the modern society about Halloween.
The current society has completely lost traditional and original meaning of Halloween. By modifying the traditional activities during the holiday, societies have considerably lost the focus of its celebration. In addition, the contradicting views on the origin and celebrations activities evidence the misconception that exists in the modern society on this holiday. Despite the aforementioned controversies and misconceptions surrounding this ancient event, have a happy Halloween.
econke 