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The ritual of oak and mistletoe is a Celtic religious ceremony, in which white-clad druids climbed a sacred oak, cut down the mistletoe growing on it, sacrificed two white bulls and used the mistletoe to make an elixir to cure infertility and the effects of poison. [1]
Most American Halloween traditions were inherited from Irish and Scottish immigrants. [6] Folklorists have used the name 'Samhain' to refer to Gaelic 'Halloween' customs until the 19th century. [7] Since the later 20th century Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday. [8]
Jack-o'-lanterns carved from pumpkins are a yearly Halloween tradition that developed in the United States when Irish, Cornish, Scottish and other Celtic influenced immigrants brought their root vegetable carving traditions with them. [2] It is common to see jack-o'-lanterns used as external and interior decorations prior to and on Halloween.
Halloween is derived from the term All Hallows' Eve, which originated as an ancient Celtic festival Samhain, meaning "summer's end," a tradition dating back 2,000 years.
Werewolf-inspired Halloween decorations are few and far between, so pick up this 5-foot tall animated one to make your haunted house stand out from the neighbors. It has pre-recorded phrases like ...
Illustration of human sacrifices in Gaul from Myths and legends; the Celtic race (1910) by T. W. Rolleston. While other Roman writers of the time described human and animal sacrifice among the Celts, only the Roman general Julius Caesar and the Greek geographer Strabo mention the wicker man as one of many ways the druids of Gaul performed sacrifices.
Based on all available forms, the hypothetical proto-Celtic word may be reconstructed as *dru-wid-s (pl. *druwides), whose original meaning is traditionally taken to be "oak-knower", based upon the association of druids' beliefs with oak trees, which was made by Pliny the Elder, who also suggested that the word is borrowed from the Greek word ...
The Mari Lwyd. The Mari Lwyd (Welsh: Y Fari Lwyd, [1] [ə ˈvaːri ˈlʊi̯d] ⓘ) is a wassailing folk custom founded in South Wales and elsewhere. The tradition entails the use of an eponymous hobby horse which is made from a horse's skull mounted on a pole and carried by an individual hidden under a sheet.