The True History of Halloween

The ancient Celts, who lived over 2,000 years ago in the land that is now Ireland, celebrated their new year on November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest. It also marked the beginnings of a dark, cold winter which they associated with death. They believed that on the night of the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31st, they celebrated Samhain, which they believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

They believed it also caused trouble and crop failure. They believed that the presence of the spirits made it easier for the Druids (Celtic priests) to make predictions for the future. For such people, entirely dependent on the natural world, these prophecies were vital in providing comfort during the long, dark winter months. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge bonfires, where people gathered to burn crops and animals for sacrifice to the Celtic deities. In the celebration, they wore costumes of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had previously extinguished, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them.

By A.D. 43, the Romans had conquered most of the Celtic land. Over the next 400 years, two festivals of the Romans were combined with the Celtic tradition of the celebration of Samhain. One was the Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans commemorated the passing of the dead. The other was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and explains the modern day tradition of bobbing for apples.

By the 800’s, Christianity spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1stAll Saints’ Day, a time to honor all saints and martyrs. The pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival with a church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was called All-hallows or All-hallowmass, meaning All Saints’ Day. Later the night before became known as All-hallows eve and eventually Halloween. In A.D. 1000, the church made November 2ndAll Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated somewhat like Samhain, with bonfires, parades and people dressing in costumes as saints, angels and devils.

As European immigrants arrived in America, they brought their traditions with them, particularly in New England, though because of the rigid Protestant belief system, the celebrations were limited. In the late 1800’s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a hoiday much more about community, parties and pranks.

The American tradition of trick or treating dates back to the All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor people would beg for food and families would give them “soul cakes” in return for a promise to pray for the families dead relatives. This was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. It was referred to as “going a-souling and was eventually taken up by children who would visit houses in their neighborhoods for food and money.

The tradition of dressing in costumes still had its’ roots in Celtic lore. Parents were encouraged to take their children out, dressed in these costumes, asking for food or money. This eventually became known as trick or treating. If the children received nothing from a household, they would play a prank on that household for not giving them anything. As America moved on to later years, Halloween lost most of its’ superstitions and religious overtones.

By the 1920’s and 1930’s, Halloween had become a secular tradition with parades, parties and entertainment. By the 1950’s Halloween had evolved into a holiday mainly directed toward children, but adults loved to celebrate with Halloween parties. A new American tradition was born and it is estimated today that Americans spend close to seven billion dollars on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday, eclipsed only by Christmas.

Note: Most of the information for this article was obtained by The Halloween Webring