The Anthesteria, more specifically the third day of it, known as Chytroi, was an ancient festival that took place over three days in ancient Greece. It was brought back to light in the book The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury for the first time in thousands of years.
The day of Chytroi[]
The third day of the Anthestria was known as Chytroi, and it was seen as a festival of the dead. During this day, pots of seed or bran were offered to the dead. Also during this day, either the Keres (Κῆρες) or the Carians (Κᾶρες) were entertained, freely roaming the city until they were expelled after the festival.
Trivia[]
- According to the start of the eleventh chapter of The Halloween Tree, this day was called the Feast of Pots, due to Chytroi translating to "pots".
- This festival, according to The Halloween Tree, is one of the origin points of the Halloween custom of trick-or-treating, along with the Feast of Ghosts, or Wag Festival.