The History of Halloween

Celtic Tradition

Its origins date back to a Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween or Sow-in). The Celts celebrated the beginning of the start of the year on November 1st. On the final night of the year, October 31, they believed that the ghosts of the deceased returned to the earth. These ghosts roamed the world, inflicting harm to crops and performing mischief, as they looked for living bodies to possess.

Not surprisingly, the living weren’t eager to have their bodies inhabited by these ghosts, so on that night, they’d dress in scary costumes, and parade through the town, hoping to frighten the spirits away, and make it to the morning unscathed.

After the Celtics lands were taken by the Romans, Samhain was absorbed with two Roman holidays. Feralia was a day in October to commemorate the passing of the dead. Pomona was a day to rejoice the goddess of fruit and trees. (The symbol of Pomona was an apple, which may clarify the adoption of the Halloween custom of bobbing for apples.)

All Saints and All Souls

In the seventh century, in an attempt to exchange substitute Samhain with a Christian holy day, the Catholic Church named November 1 as All Saint’s Day, a day to honor saints and martyrs. The church tried once more within the ninth century, making November 2 All Souls Day, a day when the living prayed for the souls of the deceased. Neither attempt was very successful. Trick-or-treating is said to have developed from the All Souls Day custom of individuals going village to village begging for “soul cakes” bread made with currants. The more cakes they obtained, the more prayers they would offer on behalf of the givers deceased  relatives who were in purgatory. However, some sources say that this custom had all but disappeared long before the North American custom of trick-or-treating started.

By the 1500s, All Saint’s Day had turn into All Hallows’ Day, and Samhain had begun to be often called All Hallows’ Evening, Hallow Evening, and ultimately, Halloween. After the Reformation, Halloween celebrations were combined with Guy Fawkes’ Day (November 5).

Halloween in North America

In the New World, Halloween was not celebrated. In fact, due to the Puritan custom, all celebrations were considered immoral and even Christmas was scarcely observed earlier than the 1800s.

Halloween was not a popular celebration, nevertheless it did increase in popularity with the arrival of two million Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine. Nonetheless, by the end of the Civil War, in 1865, less than 5% of America inhabitants (principally the Catholics and Episcopalians) celebrated Halloween and All Saints’ Day. Determined to continue these traditions, the churches began campaigns to popularize the celebration. There is little documentation, nonetheless on Halloween previous to the 1900s.

IN 1921, Anoka, Minnesota had the first official citywide Halloween celebration. In 1923, New York joined in and LA in 1925. It was not long before Halloween was a nationwide celebration.