Additional research gained from history.com and blogs.loc.gov

Happy Halloween, everybody! The time has finally come; we have reached the awaited day! So, in honor of the day of tricks and treats, I have decided to celebrate in the nerdiest way possible and give a brief history of the holiday.

Though it would not gain its name until much later, the origins of Halloween date all the way back to the ancient Celts—the people from what is now today Ireland, the UK, and northern France. Specifically, it comes from the festival of Samhain—a pagan holiday celebrating the end of summer and the harvest season as well as the end of the year as the Celts’ new year was Nov. 1. 

Because of its place on the night before winter—a time associated with death—the festival of Samhain was also believed to be the night that the dead were able to return to the earth. During this time, the dead spirits could cause mischief, but also allow the Druids (Celtic priests) to make prophecies about the future. To celebrate these prophecies, the Druids would create large bonfires around which everyone would wear costumes and tell each other’s fortunes.

However, when the Roman Empire took over the majority of the Celtic region, two ancient Roman festivals merged with the festival of Samhain over the 400 years the Romans occupied the territory. These festivals were Feralia, a day honoring the dead, and a day celebrating Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees who is primarily symbolized with an apple. 

It was not until roughly the 9th through 11th centuries when early Christianity was spreading throughout the Celtic territory that we finally obtained the name we all know and love. The Christian (specifically Catholic) holiday of All Saints’ Day was very similar to the festival of Samhain with bonfires and costumes, though it was celebrated in early November. It was also called All-Hallows and the festival of Samhain—celebrated the night before—became known as All-Hallows Eve and eventually Halloween. 

However, the exact American Halloween that we have come to know today has kind of become its own thing. Despite originating in Europe, Halloween is not as big of a holiday as it is in the states, though it is still celebrated (especially in English dominated countries). The Halloween that we celebrate is an amalgamation of the different traditions brought over by immigrants over the nation’s lifetime. 

Colonial America did not really celebrate Halloween, or at least not in the ways that we celebrate today. It was when Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived that the traditions we still partake in started to appear. 

Several traditions do originate from the festival of Samhain (or later renditions like All-Hallows Eve) such as pumpkin carving (though it was originally turnip carving), dressing up in costume, and seeing ghosts/apparitions/spirits as well as other creepy creatures such as bats. Other traditions such as bobbing for apples and candied apples come from the Roman festivals merged with the festival of Samhain. 

Still more traditions do have clear origins. Trick-or-treating and mischief are parts of Halloween that cannot be clearly traced back to any single tradition of any single celebration. Though we can still see the way Halloween has changed over the years. 

For instance, candy was not always the given treat for trick-or-treating. For many, many years, the treats given to children as they went door-to-door included various fruits, toys, nuts, and coins. It was not until roughly the 1970’s when safety concerns led to sticking to wrapped treats like candy. And now, store shelves are lined with bags of candy every year and trick-or-treating is characterized by sugar highs and crashes.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this holiday, even if you don’t know how you would use this information. Once again, happy Halloween!