It’s the Halloween season again and lots of spooky decorations and fun events like haunted houses are going on, but do you know where the beloved holiday originated from?
Halloween or the idea around it dates back nearly 2000 years. The Gaelic/Irish holiday of Samhain or Celtic New years commemorates the end of harvest season. As one of the four main festivals to the Gaelic it marked the ending of harvest as well as setting the stage for winter to come rolling in. The festival takes place on November 1st, many had believed that the night prior to the festival was when fairies and dead spirits walked the earth due to a thin separation between the life and deaths worlds.
During Samhain people gathered for bonfires and for prayer after the finishing of harvesting before the winter solstice. The Celts thought that on this night prior to Samhain that dead spirits and monsters could walk the earth as well as possible ancestors crossing over for the night. Since the Celts did not want to be kidnapped by these beings they too would dress up as monsters and characters from the dark to avoid being taken. Around the 10th century the holiday began to be Christianized, November 2nd the day after Samhain was named all souls day. The traditional night of Samhain was often called all Hallows eve and the two were then merged to one, Halloween.
Around the 19th century Ireland began to bring Halloween traditions to the US during the escape from the Great Potato Famine. During this time Halloween was not well known in the US. The diffusion of tradition from Ireland allowed it to spread throughout the country.
Then moving on to the Middle Ages in the UK trick or treating came into play. It started out that those who were less then wealthy and those in poverty would go to the homes of the wealthy and were given soul cake pastries in return of promising to pray for the dead ancestors of the homes they were at. Eventually the entire traditional practice was taken up by children and they would then go door to door asking for gifts. This later turned into what we call now trick or treating.
Around the 1920’s Halloween started to be recognized as a holiday for young children and community to celebrate. The holiday has changed very much over the years and is now celebrated through decorations, pumpkin carving, costumes, and of course trick or treating.
After trick or treating was recognized then lots of new traditions and strange/violent events were falling into place
1800s: The creation of jack-o-lanterns and pranks
1930s: Haunted houses
1950s: Costumes and dressing up.
1980: Poisoned candy paranoia
What once started as a celebration of the ending of a harvest merged into one of the most celebrated holidays in the US and quite a few other countries.
