The spooky season is here and as Halloween quickly approaches, we get ready to eat candy, watch scary movies, and dress up in fun costumes. But where does this frightful night of fun originate?
Halloween originated from the festival of Samhain. Samhain is a Gaelic festival that celebrates the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It is believed that this is a time when the bridge between humans and the otherworld is narrow allowing for spirits and the dead to roam the earth. People lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off the spirits. Eventually, Pope Gregory III declared November first All Saints Day which allowed for the night before to become All Hallows Eve or Halloween. Which in Western Christianity was a time of remembrance of the Saints and the dead.
Trick-or-treating is one of the most celebrated Halloween traditions. We aren’t sure, however exactly where it originated. Some say that it came from the Scottish secular tradition of “guising” which originated from the Christian “souling”. Essentially during the medieval times poor people would visit rich homes and collect food in return for prayers. The Scottish secular practice exchanged the prayers for non-religious traditions such as tricks. Others believe that it came from the practice of giving offerings to spirits during Samhain.
So, what about candy? As trick-or-treating rose to popularity, the candy companies took advantage of the tradition and started selling individually wrapped candy. This was popular mostly because it was convenient and continued to gain popularity as parents started to fear homemade treats.
At the end of the day, Halloween is a fun holiday filled with ghosts, ghouls, and cheesy horror films. So I urge you to sit back, eat some candy, dress up, and turn on a classic horror movie - And if you aren’t into scary movies, Hocus Pocus is always a great option. Happy Halloween!
Liam Evans