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When Christianity arrived in Celtic lands, it could not eliminate Samhain—the festival was too deeply rooted, too essential to the agricultural and spiritual calendar. Instead, the Church Christianized it.
November 1 became All Saints Day (All Hallows), making October 31 All Hallows Eve (Halloween). The dead who returned were reinterpreted as souls in Purgatory needing prayers. The offerings became alms for the poor in exchange for prayers for deceased relatives. The bonfires continued but were blessed by priests.
Yet beneath the Christian overlay, the old patterns persisted. People still set places for the dead. They still avoided crossroads at midnight. They still watched the Samhain fires for omens. The names changed, the official explanations shifted, but the practices remained recognizably Celtic.
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