Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.
American colonists are responsible for initially bringing Halloween to the United States. Most of the colonists were Puritans and they primarily came from England which traditionally celebrated Samhain back when the Celts lived there. Although the Celtic religious traditions had been long replaced by Christianity, many of the old practices remained. However, since the American Colonies were influenced by a variety of cultures, Halloween traditions began to change. In the New World, All Hallow’s Eve became a time for “play parties”, which were private parties thrown to celebrate the harvest. People would dress in costumes, read each other’s fortunes, and tell scary stories. These were amongst the first Halloween parties!
Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.
Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated around the time of the modern-day November 1:
- Samhain a pagan festival that marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter, a time when the Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred. People would light bonfires, wear costumes, and sometimes set up displays of pictures of the dead. They also believed that the souls of the dead would return to visit their homes, and that those who died during the year would journey to the otherworld.
- All Saints DayIn the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a day to honor saints, and All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain.
- Roman festivalsWhen the Romans conquered the Celts in the 1st century CE, they added their own festivals to the calendar, including Feralia, which commemorated the dead, and Pomona, which celebrated the harvest.
- Trick-or-treatingSome think that trick-or-treating originated from the Celts’ belief that spirits would visit their homes during Samhain, and that people would give them gifts to appease them. Others believe it came from the tradition of people going door to door to ask for soul cakes.
- Jack-o’-lanternsThe custom of carving jack-o’-lanterns may have originated from the Irish folktale of “Stingy Jack”, a trickster who cheated death three times. When he died, the devil refused to let him into heaven or hell, so Jack was condemned to walk the earth carrying a carved-out turnip with a glowing ember inside to light his way.