Mitsuru Kasai
Oct 28 '98

This article traces Halloween to its origin. Moreover, it is including the reason why the ceremony is on Oct 31, the story about a witch as a symbol of Halloween, the root of a Jack-O'- Lantern, the Halloween masquerade and "Trick or Treat".

Halloween is coming soon. I was just curious about the origin of this ceremony. I thought Halloween was related to pumpkin, because although it is not popular in my country, I can see only the caved pumpkin here and there when Halloween is coming. As a result of searching Netscape, I got some articles that were published by religious groups. As I was skimming these articles, it tuned out that they are trying to connect Halloween to their belief. I thought it spoiled the article's reliability, so that I looked for other sources. This article was from "Halloween magazine". Although I thought that this was a relatively reliable, it says, "We are not responsible of any inaccuracies". In this case, there might be some views to the origin of Halloween, but I don't know what should I do to find reliable sources.

ritual (n): a religious service or other ceremony that involves a series of actions performed in a fixed other.
-cf. rite (n)

appease (v): if you try to appease someone, you try to stop them being angry by giving him or her what they want; often used showing disapproval.
-Appeasement (n)

"Several ritual were performed by the Celtic priest, Druids, to appease the Lord of the Dead."

Sabbath (n): the day of the week when members of some religious groups do not work.
The Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday and the Christian Sabbath is on Sunday.

sacred (adj): something that is sacred is believed to be holy and to have a special connection with God.
-sacredness (n)
-cf. sacrifice (n) (v)
"When setting out for a Sabbath, witches rubbed a sacred ointment onto their skin."

Masquerade (n): a formal dance or a party where people wear masks and unusual clothes.
-(v): to pretend to be something or someone different

"The Halloween Masquerade"

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