Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History

This is certainly one of the best books you can find on the market today concerning the history of Halloween through the ages. Other such worthy books include Lisa Morton's "Trick-or-Treat: A History of Halloween," and Jean Markale's "The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween: Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year." Bannatyne begins with a brief history of the Celtic celebration known as Samhain, and then moves logically forward in time, discussing Europe's various Autumn festivals, colonial beliefs about magic and if/how they celebrated Halloween, Revolutionary America's adoption of autumn festivals, how immigrants enlivened Halloween celebrations, how Halloween was institutionalized in America, etc., until you come to a discussion of modern Halloween traditions.One of the things I appreciate about the book is that it doesn't repeat any of the myths about human sacrifice, the wicker man, and other such supposed Druidic Samhain traditions. While Satanism does in reality exist, and human sacrifice is indeed a verifiable thing throughout history and even today, it has never been part of Halloween tradition. It gets old hearing that if you participate in Halloween, you're dabbling in the occult. I'm staunchly anti-occult and consider myself very well educated about Luciferianism in all its forms, but Halloween is my second favorite holiday, partially because I understand its history and view it in its proper light. If people bothered to do their research - such as by reading books like this - they'd realize that their fears are unfounded.Holidays are what you make them. You can make anything evil if your attitude is one of evil and darkness.You can choose to let yourself be influenced negatively by almost anything in this world. But unless you have this negative outlook and ill intentions, or are terribly weak-minded, Halloween is harmless fun - a time to create great memories with family and friends and to let loose from the normal grind of daily life. Halloween is a thrill and adrenaline rush - like a roller coaster, a concert, or a sporting event. To make your next Halloween even more meaningful and rich, I suggest reading this book (and as many others as you can get your hands on).

This is a fun book that tells how we got the various Halloween traditions and practices that comprise our present(sadly becoming past) Halloween. Some of my fondest memories are waiting for dusk on Halloween and then going as fast as my little legs would carry me with my pillow case (yes, I was wearing the sheet) trick or treating Then it was off to the Halloween party that our neighborhood adults always put together. This was an all ages, family fun gathering Apple bobbing, costume contests and the whole nine yards >8^DThis book mentions the origin of the Dumb Supper. I remember my mother telling me that her grandmother told her about an attempt to celebrate a Dumb Supper. Most interesting. It confirms for me what my grandmother told me when I asked her where our family came from. She said "all I ever heard was 'old Black Arish' (hear Irish) ".Beside just being fun, I'm sure there's something specific for most of the nationalities that comprise our country.

This book is just what its title suggests, a very good accounting of the history of Halloween in America. It lists the various immigrants who came to America and the folk customs and beliefs they brought that shaped the holiday. A history of each region of the country also shows how Halloween developed independently before a "national holiday " was formed. Well written and intruiging!My only negative comment of the book would be that some of the pre-American history of the book - that of the ancient Druid's Samhain is inaccurate. No other scholarly writing has ever substantiated that the Celts had a God of the dead known as "Samhain" or that they worshipped a Phoenician deity known as Baal. Belenos is a Celtic God name, but not a relation of Baal! Still, these are small glitches in an otherwise stellar book. I do recommend it to any folk historian or lover of the holiday!

This was a nice book to read that combined history and entertainment. I felt the organization could have been better, it seems like it jumped around a little bit. But the content was what I was looking for. It was rather easy to read, a little text bookie but I don't have a problem with that

Lesley Bannatyne is an expert on matters Halloween, be they current or ancient. Last year, I read her very excellent and entertaining "Halloween Nation" and immediately added "Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History" to my Halloween season reading list. The book delves into the ancient origin of the holiday itself as well as the origins of customs (trick or treat, costumes, jack-o-lanterns, etc.) we presently associate with Halloween. Readers who generally eschew scholarly books need not worry; Bannatine's writing style is lively and never dry. I highly recommend this book to all who love Halloween--no matter how much you already know about it.

This is a well written and fascinating historyOf Halloween in the USA, from Roman and Celtic origins to modern

thanks!

This is one of the great books on the history of Halloween, starts way back at the very beginning of it all....don't miss this book if you are a Halloween Fan.

Thank you for quality book delivered within timescale.

I think it looks good! I will begin to read