The History of Halloween

By Julia King

Halloween is a tradition that started over 2,000 years ago and is one of the most popular holidays in American culture. Halloween first started when the Celtic people in Europe celebrated the end of the harvest and the start of a new year in a festival called Samhain. Halloween is a holiday that marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints, or All Hallows and initiates the season of Allhallowtide. In much of Europe and North America, the celebration of Halloween is largely non-religious. Always dated October 31, Halloween is a chance to celebrate the Hallows. This holiday is known as a chance for the dead to reach the living. The Samhain Festival of the Dead celebrated the date that souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes and those who had died during the year were believed to journey to the other world. By setting up bonfires on the tops of hills, it was thought to scare away evil spirits. So, the next time you are celebrating Halloween, think of your costume as a way to scare away those evil spirits from all of your friends! Happy Halloween!