Photo: Three little pumpkins in a row at Camp Street, Murrumbateman (Izzie Gosling)
Houses throughout Yass Valley were covered with cobwebs, zombies rose from front lawns, and ghosts were shooting the breeze in doorways last Sunday.
Was this the next step in the apocalypse of 2020-2021? No. In a surprising turn of events, it was just Halloween or October 31 to some.
After a long lockdown being able to get out and about, chat to neighbours and do a spot of trick-or-treating was a breath of fresh of air.
It was a beautiful sunny day ideal for painting your face with fake blood and going for a walk around town to show off your costume plus score some socially distanced wrapped candy for your efforts.
Evolving from the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain (pronounced sow-in) Halloween has transitioned from a pagan ritual to a day of parties, costumes, jack-o-lanterns, and trick-or-treating for kids and adults.
The original Samhain holiday involved big bonfires and people wearing costumes to ward off ghosts by blending in.
The Celts, who lived 2000 years ago, mostly in the area in Europe that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.
This day marked the end of summer and the harvest but the beginning of the dark, cold winter. It was a harsh time and often associated with human death.
Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
The word Halloween originated through the centuries as the evening before the new year. It was known as All Hallows Eve and then later just Halloween.
By Brianna O’Rourke
