Around the eigth century, the Christian church made November 1 All Saints' Day to honor all of the saints that didn't have a special day of their own. Over the years these festivals combined, the mass held on All Saints' Day was called Allhallowmas (the mass of all Hallows - saintly people)。 The night before was known as All Hallows Eve. Eventually this name became Halloween.
In the 1800s, as a lot of people emigrated to the U.S., the holidays and traditions of different cultures merged. Halloween was not always a happy time. October 31, or the night before took on other names. Some called it Devil's or Hell night, to others it was mischief night. Here in Vermont, the night before is called cabbage night. To some people this became a time to play tricks on others. Some of these tricks were not fun at all. Luckily, community groups and individuals took action and started to change Halloween into a family event. Dressing up in costumes and going ”trick or treating“, costume parades, community parties and Fall festivals are some of the ways that Halloween is celebrated today.
Other countries have different Fall festivals to honor the deceased.
The Festival of the Dead is one of the most important happenings in both Palermo and the rest of Sicily. The second of November is a festival day for the children of Palermo as, according to tradition,they were made to believe that their dead relatives would return the night before and leave them traditional sweets and cakes on the table (Martorana fruit, which is almond paste made into the shape of different fruit)。 They would also receive puppets of boiled sugar and toys. It's one way of keeping the memory of their dead relatives and loved ones alive.
一年中最”鬧鬼“的這天夜里，各種妖魔鬼怪、 海盜、 外星來(lái)客和巫婆們紛紛出動(dòng)。在基督紀(jì)元以前，凱爾特人在夏未舉行儀式感激上蒼和太陽(yáng)的恩惠。
當(dāng)時(shí)的占卜者點(diǎn)燃并施巫術(shù)以驅(qū)趕據(jù)說(shuō)在四周游蕩的妖魔怪。后來(lái)，羅馬人用果仁和蘋果來(lái)慶祝的豐收節(jié)與凱爾特人的10月31日溶合了。
在中世紀(jì)，人們穿上動(dòng)物造型的服飾、 戴上可怕的面具是想在萬(wàn)圣節(jié)前夜驅(qū)趕黑夜中的鬼怪。盡管後來(lái)基督教代替了凱爾特和羅馬的宗教活動(dòng)，早期的習(xí)俗還是保留下來(lái)了?，F(xiàn)在，孩子們帶著開玩笑的心理穿戴上各種服飾和面具參加萬(wàn)圣節(jié)舞會(huì)，這些舞會(huì)四周的墻上往往懸掛著用紙糊的巫婆、 黑貓、 鬼怪和尸骨，窗前和門口則吊著齜牙裂嘴或是面目可憎的南瓜燈籠。孩子們還常常試圖咬住懸掛著的蘋果。
美國(guó)和加拿大的孩子們?cè)谶@天穿戴上古怪的服飾去按鄰居家的門鈴，并按傳統(tǒng)發(fā)出”是款待我還是要我耍花招“的威脅。鄰居們不管是否被嚇著，總是準(zhǔn)備了一些糖果、 蘋果等點(diǎn)心，孩子們則一一收入自己的袋內(nèi)。
萬(wàn)圣節(jié)其實(shí)不是基督教的節(jié)日。2500年前，愛爾蘭的凱爾特人(Celts)以10月31日為一年的最後一日，11月1日是新一年的開始，也象徵冬天的來(lái)臨。
凱爾特人相信死亡之神Samhain在10月31日的晚上會(huì)和鬼魂一起重返人間，尋找替身。因此他們?nèi)键c(diǎn)火炬，焚燒動(dòng)物以作為死亡之神的獻(xiàn)禮。還會(huì)用動(dòng)物的頭或皮毛做成的服飾打扮自己，發(fā)出古怪的聲音，使死亡之神認(rèn)不出自己，避過災(zāi)難。這就是今天萬(wàn)圣節(jié)化妝舞會(huì)的由來(lái)。過了當(dāng)晚，鬼魂回到陰間，一切回復(fù)平靜。
基督教興起，教徒沿襲萬(wàn)圣節(jié)傳統(tǒng)，萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的意義慢慢改為紀(jì)念為獻(xiàn)身於神而死亡的人(holies)。
附帶一提，11月2日是墨西哥的鬼節(jié)(Los Dias de los Muertos, Day of the Dead)。當(dāng)天家家戶戶都烘烤動(dòng)物造型的面包和煮雞肉等食物，并在供桌上面放置玩具，以期待早逝的孩童們回到家中玩耍。也可以陳列鮮花、 水果、 照片和彩繪的骷髏頭，接待仙逝長(zhǎng)輩。
墨西哥人認(rèn)為，鬼魂和人一樣需要及時(shí)行樂，所以鬼節(jié)宛若一場(chǎng)嘉年華會(huì)，人們帶著面具到處游走，吃骷髏形狀的糖，面包上還裝飾有鬼的形像。黃昏時(shí)刻，全家人一起到墓園清理墓地，婦女們或跪或坐整夜祈禱，男人們交談或唱歌，在子夜中燭光忽閃忽滅充滿了整個(gè)墓園，游唱歌者為已逝亡者的靈魂高歌吟唱。
