Feralia

The history and origin of our modern Halloween takes in many festivals and celebrations from other times and cultures. One of the is the Roman festival Feralia.

What Is Feralia?

Feralia was a Roman feast that took place on February 21st. Although that's signifiantly later than Halloween it's still a winter festival and a likely contender as on of the forerunners of Halloween.

Feralia was a one day feast that took place at the end of the longer Parentalia. Parentalia ran from February 13th to 21st and was a general feast to honour the dead. For most of the Parentalia the celebration was a positive one, honouring ancestors and family members. However on the final day things took a darker turn.

Spirits

At midnight on the day of Feralia the heads of the Roman families would address the less pleasant ancestors and evil spirits. The Feralia rituals were intended to control these malevolent entites and force them to return to the spirit world for another year. Failure to porperly observe the rites of Feralia could lead to the spirits remaining on the earth where they would appear as ghosts and bring misfortune throughout the coming year.

Once this "exorcism" had been completed the Romans could enjoy the happy family feast of Caristia the next day, Feb 22nd. The similarity between Feralia-Caristia and Halloween-All Saints' Day is striking.