Origins of Halloween

In just a few short weeks, the long awaited night filled with candy and costumes shall be here! Halloween is a beloved event for all ages. After all, who doesn’t like dressing up and receiving candy? However, many who celebrate Halloween are unaware of its origin.

Two thousand years ago, Halloween was an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain, which was actually celebrated on November 1st. Samhain represented the end of the summer harvests, warm weather, and foreshadowed long, cold winters. The Celts believed that the barrier between the worlds of the living and the deceased would blur, and the spirits of the dead would come to visit the living. These spirits would ruin the Celts' crops and cause trouble. However, Celtic Priests would use this time to make prophecies for the celtic people. These prophecies brought them comfort during the long winters. The Priests would then commemorate this event by building huge bonfires, where townspeople would make animal sacrifices and burn crops to appease their Deities. They did all of this while wearing costumes made out of animal skins!

In the upcoming centuries, Samhain became mixed with various Roman and Christian festivals. Feralia was a Roman festival where the people would celebrate and honour the dead. Similar to Samhain, All Saints’ Day was celebrated with big bonfires and costumes; however, this holiday was mainly Christian oriented. It’s believed that the modernly used term “Halloween” came from this time period.

Halloween wasn’t commonly celebrated in North and South America until much later in history. In fact, it was immigrants who brought Halloween to America. The traditions picked up slowly, but the holiday’s religious origins and meanings were lost and forgotten. This time of year became a way for children to celebrate, by dressing up in fun costumes and receiving candy from strangers. Interestingly enough, it was commonly believed that giving children small treats prevented them from being at risk of Halloween vandalism or “tricks”.

Nowadays, Halloween is a much anticipated Autumn festivity for everyone. For many, it is not a festivity about superstitions or religion, but about having fun with friends and family.

Stay safe this Halloween!