Halloween is fun, but it’s weird. Think about it, we dress up as fictional or non-fictional characters both alive and dead to travel the streets of our neighborhood so we can yell “Trick or Treat” to every house that has its lights on. Isn’t that weird? But actually, when you take a step back and look at the progression of Halloween throughout the centuries, it’s not that weird.
What Is Halloween?
Our modern day Halloween is actually derived from the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain where it marked the end of the summer season and the transition to winter. The Celts were a 2000 year civilization situated in the European areas of Ireland and England. They were known for their intricate metalworking and carving techniques as well as their warrior society. They celebrated their New Years on November 1 and believed that the veil between the afterlife and the world grew thin the night of the New Year’s Eve, allowing the spirits of the dead to roam the Earth once again. Creepy right? But that’s not all. The druids, religious leaders of the Celts, believed that they could make predictions about the future due to the supernatural energy on the night of October 31. In honor of this event, the Celts built great bonfires and gathered to burn the remains of animals or produce as offerings to the spirits. They wore costumes consisting of dead animal skins and bones to blend in with the roaming spirits, hoping that they could escape the clutches of the dead.
Once the night was over, the Celts would re-light the hearth fires from the sacred bonfires to help protect them from the winter. Their influence mostly died out during the Roman conquests of 1st century AD where Christianity was spread throughout Europe and dwarfed the paganism of the Celts. However, Celtic culture still remains in parts of Ireland and Scotland today, but the holiday of Samhain was forever changed by the Romans.
How has it Changed?
The Romans conquered most of the Celtic lands by the end of the 1st century and had the job of converting pagan ideals and holidays into church approved Christian holidays. And several centuries later, the church created All Saint’s Day in the 7th century to honor all Christian martyrs and saints. Later in the 9th century, the church made November 2 to be All Souls Day which was a holiday to honor the dead and was founded on the traditions of Celtic culture with bonfires and people wearing costumes of angels and devils. But the most important part is that the original night of Samhain on October 31 was called All-Hallows eve or All-Hallowmas which eventually led it to adopt the term Halloween. This combined with the practice of dressing up and having large community gatherings culminated in our modern practice of Halloween.
Halloween managed to make its way to America way back in the late 19th century during the Irish Potato Famine that caused an influx of Irish immigrants to come to America. So along with them they brought the tradition of Halloween and popularized the holiday that was scarcely celebrated by the south. Over the next century and a half, the holiday of Halloween grew in America and eventually morphed into what we know today. But that leaves one question to be answered.
Where did “Trick or Treat” Come From?
The phrase “Trick or Treat” first appeared in the 1920s and 30s where people quickly understood that there was no “trick” option and they were practically forced to hand out candy to children looking at them with their innocent puppy eyes. Diabolical, but very effective. The tradition of trick or treating originated back in Roman times with All Souls Day on November 2. The holiday lent itself to the practice of “souling” where poor people and children would go up to the doors of the wealthy and sing prayers for their lost ones where they would receive “soul cakes” (basically the old version of candy) in return. This practice transferred to Scotland where instead of offering prayer, the children there would approach the wealthy in costumes and offer entertainment in the form of poetry or singing. This practice evolved into the modern version of Halloween when it came to America where we now dress up in costume of whomever or whatever we like so that we can appeal to the entire neighborhood on Halloween, and get ourselves some delicious treats.
Halloween has definitely transformed into a less serious holiday over the centuries, but it is probably one of the most fun and creative holidays we celebrate in America today. It is the reason that we are able to stock up our candy safes for the year and maintain a near infinite sugar rush. For that, we can thank the Celts.
Information courtesy of History.com and Smithsonian Magazine
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