For the audio version of this tale:Hallowe’en is short for ALL HALLOW’S EVE, or the day before All Saints’ Day and was probably first celebrated by the Druids in ancient Britain. It was believed that on this evening, Saman or Samhain, the ‘Lord of the Dead’, would call up evil spirits, and the Druids would light big fires to keep the spirits away.
The Celts celebrated this day as their New Year’s Eve, which was their time for fortune telling, and they believed that on this night ghosts revisited their old homes…..
…Keep yourselves safe…
Dawn Denton©
Travel Trales 
October 30, 2012 at 3:36 pm
This is interesting…I did not know the Druids celebrated Samhain. In Wicca, Samhain is a time when loved ones no longer with us are remembered; it is believed that the veil between us is at its thinnest allowing for a reunion of sorts–candles are lit to guide our loved ones home. Wiccans don’t generally light any fires to keep evil away but I’ve heard that is how the Jack-o-Lantern came to be. The faces on the gourds were meant to scare away spirits. Incidentally, that is why people dress in costume–it was originally to confuse the spirits into not knowing who was human and who was goulie. Again, not a wiccan tradition, but along the way it seems all the different traditions have emulsified into one big celebration. More fun for us!
November 1, 2012 at 11:09 pm
How interesting! Thank you. That’s why I love history…so many angles…makes it so exciting!