The History of Halloween

The Fascinating History of Halloween

      October 31 is the coveted Day of Candy. Each year, on this date, we dress up as whatever we want, buy dozens of pounds of candy, and scare everyone that comes to our houses. Daunting decorations and terrifying screams are staples of this wonderful holiday; spooky music and movies become the norm. When you think of it, it's quite weird, don't you think? We teach our kids to unlearn "Don't take candy from strangers" for a single day. We dress up as something we're not, spend hundreds on decorations and candy, and it's the one day where it's socially acceptable to scare little kids. We buy pumpkins for the express purpose of carving faces into it and placing light inside. We spend hours and hours decorating, planning, and doing makeup only to take it all down the next day. How did this come to be? Why do we do it all on one day only? Why October 31? Turns out, Halloween has Pagan roots and Christian conversions. It's quite fascinating, and that's why I'm here to talk about it!
      Thousands of years ago, the lands we now call Great Britain and Ireland were populated by the Celts (KELts), a Pagan people who had a huge celebration that started October 31. This celebration, called Samhain (SOW-ehn), was a precursor to November 1. The first of November was a huge day for the Celts, as it marked the end of the harvest and beginning of winter. Samhain, the giant celebration, was a day filled with singing and joy. At night they lit bonfires, and sacrificed food, crops, and livestock to their gods. They wore animal skins and furs, and danced. On this night, they believed that supernatural creatures like ghosts and goblins roamed the earth, causing mayhem and mischief. To keep these critters at bay, they placed food outside their doors, which the creatures supposedly ate instead of causing trouble. Sadly, this tradition was soon to be hurt.
      During the first century C.E, the land of the Celts was invaded. Romans conquered the area, and brought their own autumn holidays, Feralia and the feast of Pomona. Feralia was a holiday that honored the dead. The feast of Pomona was a celebration of the goddess of the harvest. These holidays originally merged with Samhain, creating a day of even more celebration and joy. However, when the fourth and fifth centuries rolled around, Christianity came knocking at Britain's door. Most of the Celts and other peoples converted, but the old traditions still stayed alive. Many people still celebrated Samhain, Feralia, and the feast of Pomona. Unfortunately, Christianity doesn't like to leave people's holidays alone.
      The Pope decided to insert their own celebrations, on November 1 and November 2. November 1 became All Saints' Day, a day dedicated to Christian saints. November 2 became All Souls' Day, a Christian version of Feralia. They also added a third holiday, on October 31. This was All Hallows' Eve, literally only meant to be the day before All Saints' Day. Hallows means "saints", and "eve" meaning evening. Eventually, All Hallows' Eve was shortened to simply Halloween. "Een" also means evening, so it made sense. However, it didn't just suddenly become the spooky, candy-oriented holiday it is now.
      The process of giving out candy might have come from a tradition called "souling." Souling was the practice of beggars asking for food, and in return, the beggars would promise to pray for the souls of the food-giver's deceased loved ones. This evolved from the Celtic tradition of leaving food out for the supernatural. Bobbing for apples may have come from the feast of Pomona, as Pomona's symbol was an apple. People began to dress up as fairies and goblins to blend in with the supernatural creatures that supposedly roamed on October 31; this was the early version of dressing in costume. Jack-o-lanterns began as scary faces carved into vegetables, which were placed in windows to ward off equally scary creatures.
      But how did this all get to America? Simple: When immigrants from Britain, Ireland, and Scotland came to America, they brought these traditions with them. Soon, Americans all over were copying them and evolved them into the traditions we have today. International travel brought these traditions to several other parts of the globe, and soon we had the candy-ridden, skeleton-inviting, time-consuming holiday we celebrate today.
      All in all, the wonderfully fun and sugar-driven Day of Candy has a deep and interesting history. With Pagan roots, Roman evolutions, and Christian conversions, Halloween has been through many ups and downs to get it to where it is today. It might not be done, either. Just as animals, cultures, and technology evolve, I'm sure Halloween will continue to grow and change throughout the next several millennia. May the Trick-Or-Treating live on!