Door-to-Door Begging in Halloween History

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Ginny on behalf of Expert Village and I'd like to tell you a story. Come, travel back in time with me as we explore the brief history of Halloween. The Celtic villagers would attempt to tell each others fortunes during the night and went from house to house begging for money and food for another one of their gods, Muckola. Only the finest of foods and crops were offered to the various gods so that they would not be offended. This was a great sacrifice for the people as it was the end of the growing season. And often, food that was already scarce needed to be stored for the long winter. Often the people were on the verge of starvation, but they strongly believed that if they pleased their gods, they would have enough food for the future. At the end of the celebration villagers paid a fee to the Druids (their priests) who gave them an ember from the sacred fire. With this ember, they re-lit their own hearth fires to protect them through out the long, cold, dark winter. They took special care to make sure that the flame never went out, but continued burning all winter long. The next morning when the fire was completely out in the bonfire or bonfire, the people reassembled at the site of the fire. And the remaining bones would be used to tell the fortunes of the people of the village. This was a very important part of their culture and their belief in the future. Stay tuned for "History of Halloween, Chapter 5.""