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The History of Halloween – What Is Samhain?

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN — Research Episode

Welcome listeners, and it’s Halloween! The time for celebrations across maaaany cultures. And today I share the story of Halloween itself. Today, I’m going to jump head first into what makes Halloween what it is today. It’s time for a research episode. I’m going to covering off some pretty key topics about what Halloween is, what it is to me, Halloweens cultural roots, and the merging of two key cultures Christianity and Celtic tradition that created what modern Halloween is right now. Alongside all of this, I’ll exploring Samhain, the Pagan Gods, and aspects of Halloween that we enjoy but may not really know where they originate from, such as trick or treating, pumpkins, and dressing up.

References mega list:

Death Rates: www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/halloween_deadliest_day.aspx

Expenditure: nrf.com/media/press-releases/halloween-spending-reach-9-billion

Safety and Fears: journalstar.com/lifestyles/family/of-the-scariest-health-hazards-of-halloween/article_8284fefb-25a9-5f37-a5d1-ac8c33ffb448.html

Poison Candy: www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/marijuana/sd-me-marijuana-poisoning-20181026-story.html

Origins: www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

All Souls Day: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day

All Saints Day: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day

Paganus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism

Religion Statistics: news.gallup.com/poll/187955/percentage-christians-drifting-down-high.aspx

Deities by the Celts: www.thoughtco.com/gods-of-the-celts-2561711

Celtic Polytheism: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_polytheism#Common_Celtic_theonyms

Gaelic and Christian Halloween Influences: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Gaelic_and_Welsh_influence
Celtic God Muck Olla: www.flickr.com/photos/22361861@N07/6221473618

Immigration: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch-Irish_Americans

Soul Cakes: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_cake

Halloween Lore: www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/origin-of-Halloween.html

Samhain Lore: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain

Celtic Wicca: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Wicca

Australia Halloween: this.deakin.edu.au/society/should-we-really-be-celebrating-halloween-in-australia

Credits

Music credits:

CO.AG — CO.AG Music on YouTube

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