History of Halloween

As the warm days of autumn come to an end and the cold, dark winter begins to move closer, Halloween, the holiday of trick-or-treating in fun costumes and spooky-themed decorations, is just around the corner!

The Halloween holiday dates back 2,500 years and originates from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where people would light bonfires and wear costumes to scare off ghosts and evil spirits. The Celtic festival of Samhain was about celebrating the end of the harvest season and warmer weather and the start of the dark and chilly winter. The Celtics believed that on October 31 spirits could pass back into the human world.

Halloween was brought over to the United States through Irish and Scottish immigrants. Though Samhain was never officially recognized or enforced in the country, the customs of the cultures that celebrated it were still kept, and this eventually influenced Halloween celebrations later in the future. The first official Halloween celebration in the United States is typically considered to have taken place in 1920 in Anoka, Minnesota, which is known as the Halloween Capital of the World.

Once Samhain traditions were brought to the United States and given time to become mainstream in American culture, Americans also began dressing up in creative costumes as part of the holiday’s festivities. This practice eventually turned into today’s trick-or-treating tradition, where kids, in their colorful costumes, go door-to-door looking for candy and sweets. While this was happening, there was a shift in how Halloween was celebrated, and the holiday moved away from witchcraft and ghostly focuses to more secular, sillier and spookier fun. Throwing Halloween parties for children and adults became a common way to celebrate this spooky and festive holiday.

Halloween has already been a big hit this year on NDSU campus and all over the Fargo-Moorhead community. I have heard people talking about throwing Halloween parties, making plans with friends and figuring out what costumes they are going to wear for the holiday. Everywhere, it seems like people are getting into the Halloween spirit by finding different ways to make it more fun and special than it used to be when the holiday was starting.

While I was growing up, Halloween was always a lot of fun, especially when I would just go door-to-door to get candy and say, “trick or treat.” Halloween was an excuse to dress up in a costume that made me feel special on the outside but also one that I was comfortable in on the inside. In 2018, I went as a fan for the Denver Broncos, and I thought it was super fun to play the role of a Broncos mega-fan.

The best thing about Halloween now that I am in college is being a part of hall government and being able to do a booth for the Boo at NDSU event. This event is about bringing the Fargo community together by dressing up in different and unique costumes, trick-or-treating and playing fun games to kick off the Halloween celebration. It’s a fun way of helping kids enjoy the holiday that I loved when I was little, and that’s the most important part of the Halloween holiday’s legacy and history: it’s an excuse for kids and adults alike to have fun.