The King's Port Inn would like to wish everybody a Happy Halloween! This is a great time of year in Maine! Dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, going to parties, haunted hayrides and haunted houses, is fun for everybody. We hope you have a great Halloween, and don't eat too much candy! Here is a brief history of Halloween:
The origin of Halloween began over 1900 years ago in England and Ireland. It was a Celtic celebration of the new year, called Samhain which occurred on November 1st. The Celtic druides revered this holiday because it was said that the souls of the dead supposedly could mingle with the living. Bonfires were a large aspect of this holiday.
Samhain remained popular until St. Patrick and other Christian missionaries arrived in the area. As the population began to convert to Christianity the holiday began to lose its popularity. The Church instead used these holidays with a Christian twist to bring paganism and Christianity together, making it easier for local populations to convert to the state religion.
Another tradition of the druidic belief is that during the night on November 1st, that the souls of the dead could roam the earth with joy to greet the arrival of "their season"-the long nights and early dark of the winter months. The souls had their fun with people, and the only way people could escape them is to offer them fancy foods and sweets. Or, a human could disguise himself as one of them and join in their roaming(hence dressing up for Halloween).
Today costumes take the place of disguises and candy has replaced fruits and other fancy foods. Originally trick-or-treating began as "souling" , when children would go door-to-door on Halloween, with soul cakes, singing and saying prayers for the dead. Over the course of history Halloween's visible practices have changed with the culture of the day, but the purpose of honoring the dead, veiled in fun and festivities, has remained the same.
We hope you enjoyed this short history of Halloween. The King's Port Inn has availability on Halloween. We have premium King rooms for only $89.00 a night. We also have King Jacuzzi Suites for only $109 a night. Each room includes free continental breakfast, free wi fi, and free parking. To make a reservation, please call 1-800-286-5767.
Happy Halloween!
The King's Port Inn
