Spooktober

Origin Of Halloween

Every year on October 31st pumpkins get carved, ghost stories are told, and per tradition kids group up to go “trick or treating”. For the majority of people these traditions are just that; traditions. Something to participate in annually because Hallmark made it popular….right? Well like the majority of modern traditions Halloween too has very old roots.

In its earliest form Halloween was actually known as the Celtic holiday Samhain (Sao-win), the festival celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The Celts and other groups, like the Druids believed that during this time of year the veil between the earth and the spirit realm was weakened. This enabled the spirits of the dead to come back and “cause” trouble for the crops and the weather, causing everything to “decay” (nowadays we know it’s just the change of seasons).

To celebrate Samhain they had a variety of activities. For instance, they would make huge bonfires to burn crops and do animal sacrifices in honor of their deities (so much fun!). During these bonfires the Celts/Druids would typically dress up in costumes consisting of animal skins/heads. Since the Romans had a similar holiday, they ended up merging traditions back in 43 A.D when they took over. This can explain the modern day tradition of bobbing apples, since the second day of Roman festivities in late October was dedicated to the goddess of fruit and trees (Pomona) who’s symbol happened to be an apple.

Later on sometime during the 9th century Christianity had already made its debut and was pretty much influencing everything. So much so that Pope Boniface IV moved “All Saints’ Day” from May 13 to November 1st and made November 2nd “All Souls’ Day”, which in modern Hispanic culture is known as Día de los Muertos. “All Saints’ Day” was also known as “All Hallows Eve” which eventually turned into “Halloween”.

So now you know a little bit about the mixed history of Halloween! It’s not just a Hallmarks’ holiday and in many different cultures you can find similar celebrations. So no matter how you choose to spend Halloween (hopefully in a manner that is safe), know that historically speaking we’ve been getting spooky for thousands of years. So grab that bag of candy corn, turn on the radio to “The Monster Mash”, and have a happy Halloween!

- Blog Post written by Esther Hirschmann

Source of Information:

Editors, History.com. “Halloween 2020.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 18 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween.