What English traditions did Colonial America retain after migration into America?

Answer 1

When the United States became independent, it retained the British courts and legal system. It created its own Bill of Rights and threw out the laws contrary to those provisions but kept the rest. It changed some courts and legal traditions but kept the rest. It changed some legislative provisions but kept the rest. It changed some local governmental provisions but kept the rest. While the concept that the local people had the right to chose their own form of government was revolutioanry, the actual government was evolutionary.

Answer 2

HI, my name is Mai. I was born in danoon Scotland and a big thing that we celebrate in america like we all do in Scotland is Halloween. My family is big in our calture and family tree so I have this on my computer here is how it all began.No matter what your age, the last night of October is always one to

look forward to celebrating. Halloween means kids running around in

costumes, family and friends getting together and a chance talk with

neighbors. What other holiday do you have an excuse to eat all the

sugar you want and wear whatever you want? But Halloween wasn't always

the same celebration we experience today. In fact, Halloween's origins

date back thousands of years to the ancient Celtic festival called

Samhain, pronounced sow-in.

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is the present

day United Kingdom, Ireland and northern France, celebrated Samhain as

their new year on November 1. This time marked the end of summer and

harvest period and the beginning of the winter, which is a cold and

dark time in this region of the world. The Celts associated the season

with death and believed that on the night before Samhain the boundary

between the living and the dead was distorted.

The Celts celebrated the night of October 31 when ghosts of the dead

where believed to return to earth causing trouble and damaging the

community's food supply. Celtic priests called Druids thought it was

easier to make predictions about the future during this time. For the

Celts whose existence relied entirely on the whims of nature, the

prophecies made by the Druids were an important source of comfort for

the long, dark winter months ahead.

The Celts observed the event by burning crops and sacrificing animals

to the Celtic Gods in bonfires built by the Druids. They wore

costumes, typically of animal skins and heads, to tell each others'

fortunes. And when the celebration was over, the Celts lit their

hearth fires from the sacred bonfire to protect them during the coming

months.

Romans soon conquered the territory occupied by the Celts and ruled

over the land for 400 years. Over the course of time, two Roman

festivals were combined with Samhain. One was called Feralia, a day in

late October when the Romans commemorated the passing of the dead. The

second honored Pomona, the Roman Goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona's

symbol is the apple and was incorporated into the celebration of

Samhain. This probably explains the modern day tradition of bobbing

for apples, practiced on Halloween.

The Christian influence spread into the Celtic lands by the year 800.

About this time, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as All Saint's

Day as a time to honor saints and martyrs. Current belief is that the

pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a

church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also referred to as

All-hallows or All-Hallowmas, which was Middle English for All Saints'

Day. Eventually, the night before it began to be called All-hallows

Eve and then Halloween. In the year 1000, the church would make

November 2 All Souls' Day to honor the dead. The holiday was

celebrated similarly to Samhain with bonfires, parades and costumes

such as angels, saints and devils. Together, the three celebrations

became known as Hallowmas.

As European immigrants came to America, they brought their varied

Halloween customs with them. But because of rigid Protestant beliefs

in early New England, the celebration of the holiday was limited. The

beliefs of various European ethnic groups and the American Indians

also began to mesh with the celebration of Halloween and an American

version began to materialize. The first American celebrations included

public events held to celebrate the harvest. Neighbors would share

stories of the deceased, tell fortunes, dance and sing. Colonial

Halloween celebrations featured ghost stories and mischief. By the

middle of the nineteenth century, autumn festivals were common but

Halloween had not reached the entire country.

Immigrants flooded America in the second half of the 1800s, especially

Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine who popularized

Halloween nationally. Taking from both Irish and English traditions,

Americans began to dress up in costumes and go from door-to-door

asking for food or money, a practice now known as trick-or-treating.

At this time, young women believed they could prophesize their future

husband's appearance by doing tricks with yarn and mirrors. By the

late 1800s, Americans tried to mold Halloween into a holiday more

about community than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft, making

parties for adults and children the norm. As a result, the holiday

lost most of its superstitious and religious ties.

By the 1920s and 30s, Halloween had become completely

community-centered with parades and parties for the whole town.

Vandalism also began to disrupt Halloween celebrations. That trend

slowed in the 1950s and the holiday began to focus on the young due to

the baby boom of the time. Trick-or-treating was revived as a way for

the community to celebrate and a new American tradition was born.

Today, Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion annually on

Halloween, making it the country's second largest commercial holiday.

When we think of Halloween in America, many traditions are associated

with the holiday. The most common tradition is dressing in halloween

costumes, which has European and Celtic roots. These cultures believed

they could avoid being recognized by the ghosts that came out on the

night of Samhain by wearing masks. They would also place bowls of food

outside their homes to satisfy the ghosts and prevent them from

entering the home, which could be where trick-or-treating originated.

Other sources point to beggars in Ireland who made their rounds to

homes of the rich to ask for money and food. They would threaten them

with "evil spirits" if they did not give.

Carving Jack-o-lanterns is also a tradition that came from the Celts

-- only they used turnips instead of pumpkins. The legend of the

Jack-o-lantern starts with a man named Jack, who was a notorious drunk

and practical joker. Jack was said to have tricked the devil into

climbing into a tree. He then carved an image of a cross into the

tree's trunk, trapping the devil in the highest branches of the tree.

Jack made a deal with the devil that said if he would never tempt him

again, he would promise to let him down. Legend says that after Jack

died he was denied entrance into heaven because of his evil ways. Jack

was then denied entrance into hell because he had tricked the devil.

Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through

the cold, dark winter. Jack placed the light into a hallowed-out

turnip to keep it lit longer. When the Irish came to America, they

found pumpkins to be a lot more plentiful, making the pumpkin the

official Jack-o-lantern.

Witches and black cats have become mainstream images of Halloween. But

where do they come from? Some folklore tells tales of witches

gathering each year on Halloween, arriving on broomsticks, to

celebrate a party hosted by the devil. Superstitions claimed witches

cast spells on unsuspecting people, transformed themselves into

different forms and caused other magical mischief. One superstition

said if you wanted to meet a witch, you had to put your clothes on

inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night. Then at midnight a

witch would appear.

When early settlers arrived in America, they brought their belief in

witches. These legends spread and combined with the beliefs of Native

Americans who believed in evil spirits and the black magic beliefs of

African slaves. The black cat has often been associated with witches.

It was even believed that a witch could shape shift into a cat. Others

believed the cats were the spirit of the dead. The most common

superstition is if a black cat crossed your path, you would experience

bad luck. People would actually turn around and go the opposite

direction to avoid bad luck.

There are many other superstitions associated with Halloween. For

example, the Welsh believed that when you sneezed you blew the soul

out of the body, which is where "God bless you" originated. If someone

sneezed on Halloween, it was especially dangerous because the devil

could capture your soul. Other cultures believed that owls swooped

down to eat the souls of the dying. If they heard an owl hooting, they

would get scared and believed that turning your pockets inside out

would make you safe. While eating dinner on Halloween, the Africans

brought to America as slaves would eat in complete silence to

encourage spirits to come to the table. And in Britain, people

believed the devil was a nut gatherer. On Halloween they would wear

nuts as magic charms. There is also a lot to be said about babies born

on Halloween. It once was thought children born on this day can see

and talk to ghosts and spirits, called the gift of second sight.

Additionally, Halloween babies are supposed to enjoy lifelong

protection against evil spirits.

Halloween also has some close ties to superstitions dealing with love.

Some believe if you catch a snail on Halloween night and lock it in a

flat dish you will see the first letter of your sweetheart's name in

the morning. Another one says that if a girl puts fresh rosemary and a

silver coin under her pillow on Halloween, she will see her future

husband in a dream. Girls who carry a lamp to a spring of water on

this night are said to be able to see their future husband in the

reflection. Additionally, carrying a broken egg in a glass to a spring

of water during the day can not only see their future husband by

mixing some of the spring water into the glass, but she can also see a

glimpse of her future children. Another old tradition said girls

should go into a field and there scatter the seed of hemp while

chanting "Hempseed I sow thee Come after me and show me". Upon turning

round, it was said each girl would see a vision of the man who would

be her husband.

Modern day Halloween has also brought some new traditions to the table

as well as variations on old ones. Visiting haunted houses is a more

modern tradition that most likely started as a commercial venture and

often works as a way to raise money for non-profit organizations.

While dressing in costumes for this day dates back thousands of years,

today we see an insurgence of costumes inspired by popular culture,

such as movie stars or politicians. Americans tend to see more

humorous costumes than scary ones in the current times. Additionally,

the tradition of trick-or-treating, which infers that if someone is

not satisfied with the treat you are likely to get a trick, has

evolved into an activity for younger children accompanied by parents.

The parents remember in the 1970s the rumors that poisoned Halloween

candy was handed out. Today older children and adults are more likely

to attend a costume party instead, where best costume prizes are

awarded. Most parties are held in homes but bars and nightclubs also

hold similar events.

Other countries also celebrate holidays around the same time. In

Mexico it is called The Day of the Dead, which coincides with All

Souls' Day and blends Catholic and Native American traditions.

Mexicans decorate their homes with human skeletons, food for wondering

spirits and graves for their deceased relatives. In England, Guy

Fawkes' Day has largely taken the place of Halloween. It is celebrated

on November 5 and is a patriotic holiday. Guy Fawkes and a group of

Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up parliament in the early

1600s but failed. The conspirators were tortured and executed before

they could carry out their plans. The holiday commemorates this

victory.

Halloween is one of the oldest and the second most popular only to

Christmas in America. Millions celebrate the holiday each year without

knowing its origins, which make the holiday that much more exciting.

Some view Halloween as a time for fun, friends and family. Others

still see its superstitious nature or ties to deceased. Some religions

even view it as an unholy holiday. But whatever your view, you cannot

deny the fascinating nature of the story of Halloween.