Research Paper On Halloween In Canada

Halloween is a tradition that goes back to an old Celtic festival called Samuin, which is the practice of wearing costumes in celebration of the end of the year as they celebrated a new year on November first. During Samuin people dressed up to impersonate the evil spirits. The Celtics believed that the end of the year which is October 31st, the living and dead world would overlap. This resulted in the dead having access to roam earth again. So by people dressing up in costumes they were trying to trick the spirits into believing that they themselves are spirits too. Spirits were also thought to visit their last residence in search of hospitality, so people left food and drinks on their doorsteps as an offering. They would also go guising which involved people going door to door in costume reciting verses in exchange for food, this activity also took place at the Samuin festival. As the tradition evolved over time the festivities slightly changed, costumes are still worn but not to try to fool the spirits into believing they are one of them. The more modern version of Halloween still involves guising except it is now called trick or …show more content…
The reason Canadian society keeps this holiday is because it’s part of our history and culture. Halloween in Canada also serves as a social exchange as well, and keeps the community together through the exchange of trick or treating. The Kula ring exchange shares the same properties of tradition as Halloween does for Canada, the men that exchange the shells are building bonds and social networks among their islands. The men will canoe through rough waters and risk themselves and their crew in order to exchange their shells with a neighboring island alliance, this is done to prove dedication to their exchange partners and keep the communication strong among the