The History of Halloween

The History of Halloween

History of Halloween

As we know Halloween is the time that we put out spooky decorations, carve pumpkins, and dress up, but did you know that all of these things have a meaning behind them?
The tradition of Halloween being celebrated on October 31st originated from an ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. During this celebration, individuals would wear costumes and light bonfires to ward off evil spirits. The Celtics around the area would celebrate their New Year on November first, this day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. They believed that on the night before the New Year the border between the world of the living and the dead would open. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
Later a new Holiday was created to honor the saints, known as All Saints’ Day. All Souls’ Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
When America was first founded Halloween was not greatly celebrated in all areas of the country. Halloween was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. All costumes that were celebrated in early Halloween were traditions from early European traditions. The first celebrations included “play parties,” which were public events held to celebrate the harvest. Neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance and sing. By the middle of the 19th century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.
Trick or treating did not come around till later in the country, America again borrowed traditions from Europe; kids would go door to door in costumes asking for money or food, which eventually became known today as trick or treating. At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season, and festive costumes.
As we know, Halloween is known for its superstition and eerie qualities. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. In today’s Halloween, the ghosts are depicted as more evil and fearsome than they were for the Celtics. We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid that they might bring us bad luck. This idea has its roots in the Middle Ages when many people believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into black cats.
During Halloween, many people also carve pumpkins with funny, scary, and many other faces, but this also originated from European traditions. It was common for people to carve turnips and leave them in window seals or around their doors to protect their family from evil spirits that were said to move between worlds on Halloween. When people left England and Ireland to come to America they brought their traditions with them. Instead of using turnips, they used pumpkins when they came to America and today we still have the same tradition.
Traditions have carried throughout the years and have now made it to our generation where we still carry out these traditions. Today we carry out these traditions by lighting and carving jack-o-lanterns, wearing costumes, going trick-or-treating, and decorating for Halloween. Hopefully, these traditions will continue for many generations to enjoy the spooky fun that Halloween has to offer.