Before Halloween was as wide-known today as it is, this holiday originated from a Celtic Pagan festival called Samhain. Samhain was the celebration of the end of summer and end of harvest. During this time, Celtics thought spirits could visit the living which is why they had some traditions like lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to ward them off. Costumes were to disguise as scary evil spirits in hopes of the actual ones to mistake them as their own. And bonfires were to ensure the sun would return after Winter.
During the seventh century, Pope Boniface the Ⅳ created All Saints day, which has since been moved to October 31st, taking some of the Celtic traditions but making it more Christian based. Which was later renamed All Hallows eve, later shortened to just Halloween. Not all of the beloved Halloween practices originated from Samhain and All Saints Day.
Making Jack-o-Lanterns originated from Ireland, though before it was pumpkins, the Irish cut out scary faces in turnips to ward off evil spirits. This tradition was created from an old folk tale where a guy named Stingy Jack was un-wanted in heaven. So the Devil gave him a carved up turnip with burning coal to light his way as he wandered earth as a spirit.
Trick or Treating doesn’t have a specific place of origin, since there are many different versions shown through history. The main one thought to be the tradition’s origin is an actual German tradition called “Belsnickle.” Belsnickel-ing is where kids go door to door asking their neighbors if they could recognize them. If they couldn’t tell the neighbors were to give them treats or food. The tradition of saying trick or treat originated in a British tradition, however, where the poor begged for food called “Soul Cakes.”
Have a Happy Halloween FHS 🙂
Citations:
- Bhagat, Dhruti. 2018. “The Origins and Practices of: Samhain, Día de los Muertos, and All Saints Day.” Boston Public Library. https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-origins-and-practices-of-holidays-samhain-dia-de-los-muertos-and-all-saints-day/.
- “Halloween | Definition, Origin, History, & Facts.” n.d. Britannica. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Halloween.
- “This is where the tradition of Halloween Bonfires came from….” n.d. Halloween FM. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://halloweenfm.com/this-is-where-the-tradition-of-halloween-bonfires-came-from/.
- Thomas, Heather. 2021. “The Origins of Halloween Traditions | Headlines and Heroes.” Library of Congress Blogs. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/.
- Vaughan, Don, and Meg Matthias. n.d. “Why Do We Celebrate Halloween?” Britannica. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-we-celebrate-halloween.
