For any feedback please reach out to info@festivalinside.com
- From Fantasy to Thriller: The Best Books in Every Genre - October 20, 2025
- 15 Times the Underdog Won Against All Odds - October 20, 2025
- 25 Modern Songs That Sample Classical Music Brilliantly - October 20, 2025
Halloween’s Celtic Soul Lives On
Every October 31st, millions of people dress up in costumes and knock on doors for candy, but few realize they’re participating in a tradition that stretches back over 2,000 years. In Celtic Ireland about 2,000 years ago, Samhain was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter), marking one of the most important celebrations in the ancient world. Ancient Celts marked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, and it was far more than just a harvest celebration. At Samhain the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through, which explains why our modern Halloween still focuses on ghosts, ghouls, and supernatural beings. One-quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween, proving that this ancient Celtic festival has transformed into one of America’s biggest commercial celebrations. The tradition of carving scary, candle-lit jack-o’-lanterns originated in Ireland, but the Irish used turnips instead of pumpkins to keep evil spirits away, and to avoid being terrorized by evil spirits walking the Earth during Samhain, the Celts donned disguises to confuse them.
Carnival’s Roman Roots Run Deep
When you think of Brazilian Carnival or Venice’s masked celebrations, you might not immediately connect them to ancient Roman festivals, but the connection is undeniable. The characteristics of the celebration of Carnival take their origins from ancient Mediterranean festivals, such as the Greek Dionysian (the Anthesteria) or the Roman Saturnalia, and during these festivities, there was a temporary release from social obligations and hierarchies to make way for the overthrow of order, joking and even debauchery. Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn, and by the late Republic (133-31 B.C.) it had expanded to a weeklong festival beginning December 17. The similarities between modern Carnival and ancient Saturnalia are striking – both feature social role reversals, excessive feasting, and temporary freedom from normal social rules. Even enslaved people did not have to work during Saturnalia, but were allowed to participate in the festivities; in some cases, they sat at the head of the table while their masters served them, which mirrors the topsy-turvy nature of modern Carnival celebrations. Cento in the province of Ferrara, Emilia Romagna, is the only carnival in Europe twinned with the most famous of them all, Rio di Janeiro, Brazil, and the winning float is transported to Brazil to honorably participate in Rio.
Holi’s Ancient Spring Magic
The explosion of colors during India’s Holi festival might seem like pure joyful chaos, but this “Festival of Colors” carries the weight of thousands of years of tradition. Holi descends from ancient Vedic spring festivals that celebrated fertility, harvest, and the triumph of good over evil, with roots that stretch back to some of humanity’s earliest agricultural societies. The festival’s central myth involves the story of Prahlad and the demoness Holika, where good conquers evil through divine intervention, but the celebration encompasses much more than this single tale. Colors have sacred meaning in Hindu tradition – red represents love and fertility, yellow symbolizes turmeric and prosperity, blue honors Krishna, and green celebrates new beginnings and harvest. Modern Holi celebrations attract millions of participants worldwide, with cities from New York to London hosting their own versions of the color-throwing festivities. What makes Holi particularly fascinating is how it breaks down social barriers – during the festival, people of all castes, ages, and social positions throw colors at each other, creating a temporary equality that echoes ancient spring rituals where normal social rules were suspended.
Day of the Dead’s Aztec Heart
While Day of the Dead coincides with Catholic All Saints’ Day, its vibrant celebration of death comes from much older Aztec traditions that honored Mictēcacihuātl, the goddess of the underworld. The Aztecs had a completely different relationship with death than European cultures – they saw it as a natural part of the life cycle rather than something to fear or avoid. Their festivals celebrating the dead lasted for months, with different ceremonies honoring children who died (called “angelitos”) and adults, a distinction that survives in modern Day of the Dead celebrations. The colorful sugar skulls, or “calaveras,” that are central to the holiday represent the Aztec belief that death should be celebrated rather than mourned, and the skulls often bear the names of both the living and the dead. Families create elaborate altars called “ofrendas” with photos, favorite foods, and personal items of deceased relatives, believing that the spirits return to enjoy these offerings. The marigold flowers used to decorate graves and altars were sacred to the Aztecs, who believed their bright orange color and strong scent would guide spirits back to the world of the living.
Nowruz’s Zoroastrian Flame
Nowruz, known as the Persian new year, is one of the most ancient celebrations in history and has been celebrated for around 4000 years, making it one of humanity’s oldest continuously observed festivals. Rooted in Zoroastrianism, an ancient monotheistic religion, Nowruz festivities are celebrated in countries with significant Persian cultural influence, including Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Kazakhstan, and Nowruz began as part of the ancient Zoroastrian religion and continues as a significant though largely secular festival in Iran and in many countries with significant Persian cultural influence. According to Mary Boyce, “It seems a reasonable surmise that Nowruz, the holiest of them all, with deep doctrinal significance, was founded by Zoroaster himself”, though the exact origins remain debated among scholars. Historical accounts suggest that Nowruz celebrations occurred in ancient Persepolis during the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 B.C.), where kings from across the empire would gather to celebrate the spring equinox. Nowruz was not only a seasonal and climactic renewal, but an occaision to renew the pledges of friendship, loyalty, camaraderie, and peace between peoples of all races in the ancient Persian Empire, both Iranian and non-Iranian. In recognition of the importance of this ancient rite, Nowruz was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Christmas’s Pagan Foundations
Christmas as we know it today is a fascinating blend of Christian beliefs and ancient pagan traditions that predate Christianity by centuries. The December 25th date wasn’t chosen because it was Jesus’s actual birthday – biblical scholars generally agree that shepherds wouldn’t have been tending flocks outdoors in winter in that region. Instead, early Christians strategically chose this date to coincide with existing Roman festivals, particularly Saturnalia and the celebration of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun). The tradition of decorating evergreen trees comes from pre-Christian Germanic and Celtic peoples who brought branches indoors during the darkest time of year as a symbol of life persisting through winter. Gift-giving, another hallmark of Christmas, was central to Roman Saturnalia celebrations, where people exchanged presents and feasted for days. The Yule log tradition originates from Norse winter solstice celebrations, where a large log was burned to encourage the sun’s return. Even Christmas carols have pagan roots – many early Christian songs were adaptations of older folk songs celebrating the winter solstice and the promise of spring’s return.
Obon’s Buddhist-Shinto Fusion
Japan’s Obon festival, typically held in mid-August, represents a beautiful fusion of Buddhist teachings and ancient Shinto practices that honors ancestral spirits. The Buddhist influence comes from the story of Maudgalyayana, who saved his mother’s spirit from the realm of hungry ghosts through prayer and offerings, but the festival’s deeper roots lie in ancient Japanese Shinto beliefs about honoring ancestors. During Obon, families clean their homes and graves, prepare special foods, and light lanterns to guide spirits back to the physical world, believing that ancestors return to visit their living relatives. The famous Obon dancing, or “Bon-odori,” originally served a spiritual purpose – the rhythmic movements were believed to comfort and entertain returning spirits. Modern Obon celebrations often include floating lanterns on rivers or lakes, symbolizing the spirits’ journey back to the afterlife, a practice that creates stunning visual displays across Japan. The festival demonstrates how Buddhism and Shinto have coexisted and influenced each other for over 1,400 years, creating uniquely Japanese traditions that honor both imported and indigenous spiritual beliefs.
Inti Raymi’s Solar Majesty
Once the most important festival of the mighty Inca Empire, Inti Raymi honored Inti, the Sun God, and marked the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere with celebrations that could last for days. The festival took place at Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, where thousands of people from across the empire would gather to witness elaborate ceremonies involving gold, silver, and precious textiles. Spanish conquistadors banned the festival in 1572 as part of their campaign to destroy indigenous religious practices, but it was revived in the 20th century and now attracts over 100,000 visitors annually to modern-day Peru. The central ceremony involves actors portraying the Inca emperor and his court, with the “Inca” offering prayers and sacrifices to ensure the sun’s return and continued protection of the people. Traditional Andean music, colorful costumes, and ancient Quechua language create an authentic atmosphere that connects modern Peru with its pre-Columbian heritage. The festival’s timing during the winter solstice reflects the Inca’s sophisticated understanding of astronomy and their deep spiritual connection to celestial cycles that governed their agricultural calendar.
May Day’s Celtic Fire
The cheerful May Day celebrations with flower crowns and maypole dancing have their roots in Beltane, one of the four major Celtic fire festivals that marked the beginning of summer. Beltane was a fertility festival that celebrated the union of the goddess and god, ensuring the fertility of livestock, crops, and people for the coming year. The Celtic practice of driving cattle between two bonfires was believed to protect the animals from disease and ensure their fertility, while couples would jump over fires together to bless their relationships. Maypole dancing, now seen as a quaint folk tradition, actually represents an ancient fertility ritual where the pole symbolizes the masculine principle and the ribbons represent the feminine, their interweaving celebrating the creative force of nature. In medieval times, young people would spend the night in the woods on May Eve, gathering flowers and “bringing in the May” – a practice that scandalized church authorities who tried unsuccessfully to suppress these pagan traditions. The tradition of choosing a May Queen echoes ancient goddess worship, where a young woman would represent the fertile earth goddess during spring celebrations.
Easter’s Fertility Symbols
Bede noted that in eighth-century England, the month of April was called Eosturmonath, or Eostre Month, after the goddess Eostre, and he wrote that a pagan festival of spring in the name of the goddess had become assimilated into the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Recent archaeological research appears to confirm the worship of Eostre in parts of England and Germany, with the hare as her main symbol, and the Easter bunny therefore seems to recall these pre-Christian celebrations of spring. Eggs and flowers are rather obvious symbols of female fertility, but in European traditions, the bunny, with its amazing reproductive potential, is not far behind, and hares were given ritual burials alongside humans during the Neolithic age in Europe, with archaeologists interpreting this as a religious ritual, with hares representing rebirth. In Germanic mythology, it is said that Ostara healed a wounded bird she found in the woods by changing it into a hare, and still partially a bird, the hare showed its gratitude to the goddess by laying eggs as gifts. According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws,” and eventually, the custom spread across the United States. In Persia, eggs have been painted for thousands of years as part of the spring celebration of No Ruz, which is the Zoroastrian new year, and in Iran, the colored eggs are placed on the dinner table at No Ruz.
Did you expect that your favorite holidays had such ancient and mysterious origins? From Celtic spirits to Roman festivals, from Aztec goddesses to Zoroastrian fire ceremonies, our modern celebrations carry the DNA of humanity’s oldest spiritual traditions, proving that some things truly are timeless.
Christian Wiedeck, all the way from Germany, loves music festivals, especially in the USA. His articles bring the excitement of these events to readers worldwide.
For any feedback please reach out to info@festivalinside.com
