Halloween-2026!
October 25, 2026.
Halloween will be observed this year on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Halloween is not a federal holiday and no businesses nor federal offices will be closed. Halloween is a widely celebrated cultural holiday that is celebrated worldwide although the customs may vary. The Halloween tradition that we celebrate today evolved some 2,000 years ago from the Celtic celebration of Samhain (pronounced "sow-win"), a festival that marked the end of the harvest season and the start of a new year. During the three day period of Samhain, it was believed that the veil between the living and the dead was very thin and the living could communicate with the dead. This barrier, or veil, was thin enough for spirits, fairies, and magic-users to pass back and forth.
The Celts also believed that the spiritual communication on Samhain made it easier for Celtic priests, or druids, to predict the future, according to History. To appease the deities, they built bonfires and sacrificed crops and animals. Villagers also attended the bonfire ceremonies wearing animal heads and skins, which may be where the tradition of Halloween costumes first came from.
Fast forward a few centuries, and the festivals that would become Halloween had evolved. Several Christian popes attempted to replace "pagan" holidays like Samhain with their own religious observances. By 1000 A.D., All Souls' Day on November 2 served as a time for the living to pray for the souls of the dead. All Saints' Day, or All Hallows, honored the saints on November 1. That made October 31 All Hallows Eve, which later became Halloween.
Enjoy your Halloween holiday. Be safe and watch out for the kiddies.
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." -L. M. Montgomery
Green River.
I have just recently updated the "The Turning Bridge" section of the "Railroads" pages in the Rockport/Echols Web Site. Click on the following link to be taken to the "Turning Bridge" page:
Wishing you a spooktacular Halloween filled with thrills and chills!
see you.....
jerry
