By: Hannah Herrington
Halloween is a fun holiday for everyone. Candy, costumes, and time with friends, what’s not to like? But, have you ever thought about how Halloween came to be what it is today? Well, I have, so let’s dive into the mysterious history of Halloween.
The first known Halloween tradition dates all the way back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. This included people dressing up in costumes and lighting large bonfires to ward off ghosts and other evil spirits. This day marked the end of summer, as well as the end of the harvest. It welcomed the cold winters and longer nights. The day October 31st was chosen because it was believed that was the day dead spirits could visit the Earth.
After Rome conquered the Celtics, they implemented their traditions into Samhain. Feralia, the Roman Day of the Dead, and Pomona Day, a day to honor the Goddess of fruit and trees, combined with the Celtic tradition. Pomona is widely considered the reason we bob for apples, as her symbol is an apple.
All Saints Day is celebrated just after Halloween on November 1st, followed by All Souls day on November 2nd. All Souls Day is very similar to Samhain, as it is celebrated with bonfires and people dressing up as angels and devils. All Saints Day is sometimes referred to as All-Hallows or All-Hallowmas. This is similar to All-Hallows Eve, which is how Halloween is referred to in some places. Both of these originated as Catholic holidays to remember the dead.
In America, Halloween was celebrated back when we were colonies, but only in specific areas. Protestant Priests in places like New England forbade it because they considered it devil worship. Halloween was celebrated through costumes, ghost stories, and miscellaneous mischief in the form of cruel pranks. During the 19th century, immigrants were coming to the States in droves. These people helped popularize Halloween, especially those who were escaping the Irish Potato Famine.
In the 1800’s, America’s leader wanted to start moving away from Halloween meaning mischief and ghosts. People were highly encouraged to take anything scary or macabre out of their celebrations. Due to this, Halloween lost many religious undertones and became a candy grab for little kids. Though in recent years, the scariness has returned in the form of slasher movies, 12-foot skeletons, and other creepy yard and house decorations.
A sign of early Trick or Treating was known as “Souling” for All Saints Day. The poor would visit the houses of the wealthy and give prayers in exchange for “Soul Cakes,” which are similar to scones. They’re usually a small piece of cake with spices and decorated with dried fruit.
However, this practice was soon overtaken by children asking for money or food. This then turned into the kids going to houses and asking for treats in exchange for protection against pranks. This is where we get this idea: “Trick or Treat.” Either give this kid a treat or find your house has been part of a cruel trick.
Trick or Treating is one of the largely observed traditions on Halloween. Trick or Treating, as we know it today, most likely originated in Ireland and Scotland. Kids would get into costumes and instead of “trick or Treat” it was “A Trick for A Treat.” Kids would sing, dance, read poetry, or show off any other talent to get some form of treat in return.
Today, Halloween is candy grab and no longer has any religious undertones unless you read into its history. All Saints and All Souls Days are still celebrated in some Chritsian denominations. And just to end on a fun fact, Halloween 2024 is a Thursday and Halloween 1889, the year BGA was founded, was also a Thursday. Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something new.
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
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