Halloween: from its origins until today

The History of Halloween

Halloween is one of Americans favorite holidays. On October 31, kids walk through their neighborhoods dressed up as their favorite heroes, asking for treats, and you better deliver, or they will play a trick on you. Houses, gardens and public places are decorated with pumpkins, witches, bats, ghosts...

But the celebration has evolved greatly since its beginnings. The term Halloween was first used as a celebration by the Christian community, representing the time dedicated to remembering the death, including saints, martyrs and the faithful departed believers. But according to some researches, the Christians adapted this feast from previous Celtic harvest festivals. Particularly this celebration seems to have its origins in the Gaelic Samhain, and it wasn't until the eighth century, November 1 was designated by the pope Gregory III as All Saints' Day, and the day before was known as All Hallows' Eve.

For the Celtics, this celebration represented the end of the year and the end of the summer. From this day on, the time of harvest was followed by a dark, cold winter, often linked to the death. There was a lot of superstition on this day, which was thought to allow a special connexion between the living and the death. The souls of the dead were also said to visit their homes. People would set places on the table to welcome them. They would build fires and wear typical Celtic costumes. Additionally, there was the belief that the future could be predicted on that day, especially topics like marriage and death.

The first Halloween celebrations in America were extremely limited in colonial New England because of the rigid Protestant belief systems there. Halloween was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups as well as the American Indians meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included “play parties,” public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance and sing. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn festivities were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country. In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with new immigrants, especially millions of Irish fleeing Ireland’s potato famine of 1846. It was these Irish influence that helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition.

In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft. In the early nineties, parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.

By the 1950s, Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday.

Halloween's Traditions Today

The American Halloween tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

From the beginnings until now, this celebration has evolved immensely. But despite all changes, there is a constant, which is people gathering together; some time ago it was superstition and seek for protection, now it may just be to have a good time and laugh at each other's costumes. But we will keep on celebrating, no matter what traditions may change, a party is always a party

Thanks for reading, 

Lita & Andres