The History of Halloween

Halloween has become ingrained into American society as well as many other countries’ societies. Thousands of kids dress up in costumes and trick or treat or go to parties, people decorate their houses with scary paraphernalia, and children and adults alike indulge in sweets and other goodies. It is a staple holiday of our culture and it is one that thousands of people look forward to. With all of us caught up in the ghoulish shenanigans of this mainstream holiday, however, many of us do not stop to think where it all originated. In fact, Halloween has a very long and interesting history.

Halloween originated over two-thousand years ago in modern day Ireland, England, and Northern France, but it was very different from what it is today. The Celtic people celebrated a festival called Samhain. For the Celts, the beginning of the new year was November 1st. This day also marked the beginning of winter, which the Celts associated with death. They believed that the boundary between the living and dead worlds became blurred on this particular day, allowing spirits of the dead to return to earth. They thought that these ghosts could damage crops, but also make it easier for Celtic priests, or Druids, to make predictions about the future. These predictions gave the Celts more confidence and security since they relied almost entirely on the unpredictable natural world. In commemoration of the Samhain, the Celts would build large sacred bonfires, where they would burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. The Celts typically wore costumes consisting of animal heads and skins during these bonfires.

Much later, Pope Gregory III made November 1st All Saints’ Day to celebrate all saints and martyrs. This Christian holiday spread to Celtic lands and mixed with Samhain. October 31st became All Hallows Eve and eventually, Halloween. Despite the name change, the means of celebration generally remained the same.

Halloween came to Colonial America along with the British colonists. It was frowned upon in Protestant New England, but it was popular in the southern colonies. Traditional Halloween celebrations meshed with the ideas of other ethnicities. This led to a distinct American version of Halloween. This new version involved ghost stories, dancing, and singing. With the influx of immigrants in the second half of the nineteenth century, Halloween evolved more and spread throughout the United States. People began dressing up in costumes and going from house to house, asking for food or money. This practice evolved into the trick-or-treating that we practice today.

Around the turn of the century, Halloween became more community based and an effort to take out anything and everything grotesque from the holiday was set in motion. Parties briefly became the most popular way of celebrating Halloween. This, however, did not last long, because trick-or-treating quickly made a resurgence. Trick-or-treating never again went out of style as it is still a popular practice today.

Today, Halloween has become a staple informal holiday celebrated by millions. Scary and grotesque activities have made a comeback in the form of movies, haunted houses, and other attractions. Trick or treating has also remained commonplace. While Halloween has changed greatly from its multi-millennium-old Celtic roots, hints of the origins can still be recognized today in many aspects, ranging from jack ‘o’ lanterns to superstitions.