With Halloween coming up, let’s dive into the history of this spooky scary holiday, from where it came from, how it came to be, and the backstory behind all the many famous Halloween traditions. If you want to know how Halloween traditions came to be, such as trick-or-treating, wearing costumes, carving pumpkins, and more, then continue reading!
The First Origins of Halloween
The first records of Halloween date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which took place in present day Ireland around 2,000 years ago. On October 31st, the Celtics believed that this was the day that the dead would roam the earth. They believed that on this night, the barrier between the two worlds of the dead and living opened up, allowing a crossover of the living and the dead. Though the Celtic festival of Samhain additionally marked the end of the summer and the beginning of winter, its main focus was on the dead coming into the world, marking the first origins of Halloween.
Halloween Costumes
During the Samhain festival, the Celtics would wear animal heads and skins as costumes to tell each other about their fortunes. They would also wear costumes to confuse the dead spirits roaming the earth in order to be left alone by them.
In medieval England and Ireland, people would wear costumes to symbolize the souls of the dead. Though costumes originated from the belief that the living could blend in with the dead through dressing up, they eventually evolved into simple pranks, or just fun costumes, which continued the evolution of Halloween costumes.
Moving forward, another festival, similar to the Celtic Samhain festival emerged: the All Souls Day. During this festival, big parades and bonfires would be held and people would dress up as angels, saints, and devils. This day was also referred to as Hallow’s Eve or All-Hallowsmas (coming from the Middle English word Alholowmesse which means All Saint’s day), eventually leading to the name, Halloween.
When dressing up for Halloween became popular in the United States, people mainly dressed up in masks, or as ghosts. Many people made home-made masks, some being clowns, jesters, or creepy monsters. Eventually, people began to dress up to imitate certain figures, for example celebrities, superheroes, historical figures, and many more. As time went on, Halloween costumes continued to evolve into a wider variety.
Trick-or-Treating
In Ancient Europe on the 31st of October, All Soul’s Day, people would also go from house to house to receive treats, or “soul cakes”, a traditional spiced cake. These soul cakes were given to poor citizens in order to pray for their dead relatives. Many people in ancient Europe also believed in giving out to others around this time of year, and would hand out treats, food, sometimes even money when people, mainly children showed up at their doorstep. The tradition of going from house to house to receive gifts eventually spread into the United States, evolving into the trick-or-treating tradition.
Apple Bobbing
When Celtic territory was taken over by the Romans in A.D 43, the Romans combined their culture and celebrations with the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Romans had previously had their own celebrations regarding the dead, one of them being Feralia, which celebrated the passing of the dead, the other being Pomona, a day to honor the goddess of fruit and trees. On Pomona, the main symbol of the holiday was an apple, which was merged with the festival of Samhain, further leading to the tradition of apple bobbing.
Apples were also symbols of love and fertility, and people in ancient Europe would bob for apples floating in water or hanging from a string as a courting ritual. Each apple represented a possible suitor, and the first person to bite into the same apple as someone would be the person to marry them. If a girl, or boy, bit into the same apple that a previous person did, then it would mean they were “destined” for each other. However, if a person had two attempts to retrieve the apple that would mean that their relationship would not be long-term, and end quickly. If a person had more than two attempts to retrieve the apple, it meant that they were not meant to be with the person in a relationship.
Another rule was that whoever bit into the apple first, specifically in a group of girls, would be the first to get married out of everyone. When Irish and European immigrants moved to the US, they brought this tradition with them. Now, apple bobbing is not so much used for matchmaking or determining who your soulmate is, as it is just fun Halloween tradition.
Jack-O-Lanterns and Pumpkin Carving
The Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins, or Jack-O-Lanterns, originated in Ireland, but originally, it was turnips that were carved rather than pumpkins. The tradition was based on the legend of a man named Stingy Jack, who was believed to have trapped the devil numerous times, and made a pact with the devil to only release him if it meant that he wouldn’t go to Hell. When Jack died, Heaven did not accept him, but neither would Hell because of the pact he had made with the devil. As a result, Jack was forced to roam the earth for eternity, in the form of a ghost. The devil gave Jack a carved turnip with a burning piece of coal inside, or in some stories an ember from Hell, in order to give Jack light to roam the earth. People in Ireland then began to carve turnips with burning pieces of coal inside, in order to protect themselves from the wandering ghost of Jack. When Irish immigrants migrated to the US, they began to carve pumpkins instead of turnips because they were a more native crop to the region. That is how carving pumpkins, or Jack-O-Lanterns came to be. It is also how the name Jack-O-Lanterns originated.
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