The History of Halloween

By Chelsea Natale, 2026

Published 11/2/2023

Dating back to the Celtics' celebration of the summer harvest, Halloween has taken a modern turn from its ancient origins. Today, many dress up as a variety of fictional characters as well as real-life people and go around their block asking for candy. But exactly how do the Celtic traditions of the past tie into modern day costumes and candy?

Pumpkins

According to Irish legend, a man named Stingy Jack often captured the Devil and would only set him free if he didn’t go to Hell. Jack would do this many times until he died; which after he was forced to wander the earth for the rest of eternity. He would then carve a turnip as a lantern, creating the tradition of carving a vegetable. Because of superstition from the legend, locals would carve turnips of their own in order to keep evil spirits at bay. Years later, turnips would be changed out in favor of pumpkins and many still carve these orange vegetables today.

Costumes

When the Celtics celebrated the summer harvest, the group was also lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to avoid any evil spirits. The earliest recorded year people wore costumes was in 1585 Scotland. Costumes and Halloween traditions wouldn’t reach the Western Hemisphere until the 19th century with costumes being generally worn by children. Today, costumes are still used, but more for pleasure than staying away from evil spirits.   

Black Cat Superstition

As far back as the Middle Ages, many considered black cats to be supernatural beings who went off and did witches' bidding. The highly religious Old World considered felines to be symbols of the Devil. It was often said that witches and the Devil could take the form of a cat; if they ever crossed your path, it was considered bad luck. With mass movement to cities, it became more common to see the glowing eyes of a cat at night, adding to the superstition of bad luck. In 1233, Pope Gregory of the Catholic Church proclaimed that seeing a black cat was an omen of the Devil and black cats have been feared since. 

Trick-or-Treating

The origins and exact start of trick-or-treating are unclear and often debated about with three prevailing theories. One theory states that trick-or-treating started during the Celtic celebration of Samhain (SAH-win) when the Celtic people would leave offerings of food and drinks for traveling spirits. Throughout the years, many would dress up as spirits in order to gain these offerings. 

Others think that poor adults and young children in Scotland would take food during the Middle Ages and use the food for prayer during All Saints Day on November 1st. These traditions would be later traded out for non-religious traditions such as songs, jokes, and various other tricks. 

But, there are others who would like to argue that the American tradition of trick-or-treating originated from “belsnickeling” which started as a German-American Christmas tradition. Children would often dress in costumes and go door to door to their neighbors and see who could guess their identity. If the neighbors were unsuccessful, the children would be rewarded with candy and other treats. 

Though the modern American tradition of Halloween may look vastly different from the original Celtic celebrations of Samhain, the roots of the holiday can be traced back to the tradition. Even if all Halloween means today is going from door to door asking for candy, the very essence of the holiday has been a part of American life and once, though very different, Medieval life.