The Story of Halloween is written to give weight to many facts and beliefs along with the superstitions that accompany them. Halloween is second only to Christmas in popularity and is known to be one of the oldest holidays in North America.  It definitely has the most varied assortment of reasons for “why” it is celebrated on October 31^st of each year. Those reasons vary from its superstitious aspect, to a connection to those who have passed, to a time for fun and friends, for children to dress in costume and collect candy from neighbors….no matter your reason – it is contagious to all for their own special reasons. There are few who know the entire story of Halloween and,  of its origins and that is the main reason for this article.

It matters not what age you are…as the last night of October approaches…many of us prepare for a celebration of some sort. There will be innumerable kids on the streets in all stages of dress and costume…families and friends will gather as they now have an excuse to celebrate and visit. But, it must be stated, the night of October 31^st was not always the celebratory occasion that we know it to be today.

The Story of Halloween story begins over 2,000 years ago in an extremely large open area that today includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, and a section of France. This is where a group of people known as Celts celebrated their holiday called, Samhain –  on November 1 – the first day of their New Year. This celebration also signified the onset of Winter with its cold and blackness combined with the final days of Summer with its warmth and sunshine. The Winter season in their belief was related to death and, most importantly for us, the night before Samhain was also believed to be the exact time that the separations between the living and the dead became intermingled.

During the celebration of Samhain – crops were burned and animals were sacrificed to their Gods over huge bonfires that were built by their clergy – known as the Druids.  Animal skins and skulls were worn as costumes while their Priests forecast the futures of the individual Celts.  The Druid prophecies were looked upon as a source of quiet comfort in the coming desolate months of Winter.  At the end of the evening of celebration – the Celts lit their small torches, took them home, and used them to light their fires that would last through the entire Winter season. It was on the night of October 31^st that they believed the dead might return to damage the community food supply and create havoc.                                                                                                                                                                 

After the Romans conquered the Celtic territories they combined two of their festivals with Samhain. One commemorated those that had passed away and the other was related to a celebration of fruits and trees. The focused fruit of this festival was the apple which explains the custom of ‘bobbing’ for apples to this day.

In the first millennium AD…the Pope of the day, Boniface IV decreed that November 1st would be known as All Saints Day in honor of all martyrs and saints. It is today understood that this designation was an attempt to replace the Celtic celebration with one that was sanctioned by the Church. It is not so well-known that the Mid-English translation of All Saints Day was All-Hallows or All-Hallowmas…starting to make some sense ? It became comfortable for the night before All Saints Day to be called All-Hallows Eve which soon became Halloween – it remains to this day as evidenced by this Story of Halloween

In the mid-1800s…combining Irish and English traditions…the Story of Halloween began with Americans by creating and wearing costumes of their choice and going door-to-door of their neighbors. This practice was then and is now known now as ‘trick or treating’.  Within 50 years, the significance of this night became about tricks, ghosts, apparitions, and parties for all ages and it was in this way that the celebration removed itself from any remaining ties to its religious or supernatural foundations.

One cannot describe the Story of Halloween without making reference to the importance of costumes to disguise one’s features. This originated with the ancient belief that by disguising a person’s normal appearance with masks, makeup, and varied types of clothing – evil and supernatural confrontations would be avoided. To this very day, costumes and Halloween are intertwined to the point that the celebration becomes stilted without the costume.

In closing it deserves to be noted that our celebration of Halloween has invented new traditions in costuming and donations of money. The costumes are showing a revitalization of traditional types. also known as vintage… plus those of movie stars, pop art performers, athletes and politicians. It appears as if the door-to-door approach is becoming the venue of younger children who are accompanied by one parent, at minimum. The older youths  as well as most adults tend to gravitate to house parties or costume parties where prizes reward them for their costuming efforts.

This is the Story of Halloween as it has been written in many, many publications that can be found online or in your local public library. I trust that I have done a credible job in assembling it for you and that it is easily understandable for everyone.

Thank You

Home | Contact | About | Privacy Policy | Disclosure | Sitemap