Artwork courtesy of Anastasia Codjebas
Every October, the Halloween season comes along and evokes feelings of excitement and fun-filled fear. People dress up in ominous costumes and collect candy from their neighbors. Horror movies play on repeat throughout the month. At any other time, driving past a front-yard filled with skeletons and bloodied monsters would have someone ready to dial 9-1-1. However, during the fall season, this type of decor is not only free from judgment but encouraged. It is reasonable to wonder how this fun-but-creepy holiday of Halloween began.
Halloween began 2,000 years ago with the Celtic festival called Samhain. According to the editors of History.com, the Celtic New Year took place on November 1. They believed that the ghosts of those who passed came back to earth on October 31. Then there’s the matter of All Saints’ Day, which was developed from the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day. The editors of History.com note that people recognized this day by dressing up as saints, angels, and devils. They also hosted parades and bonfires to commemorate the day. This celebration was also referred to as All-hallows, which then developed into All-Hallows Eve before the name Halloween was born. The holiday was not celebrated in America until the second part of the 19th century.
Halloween did not spread throughout the entire country right away. The strict Protestant beliefs of colonial New England led to the holiday being more widely celebrated in Maryland and the southern colonies. The American version of Halloween that we know today began to come about as the traditions of Native Americans and various European ethnic groups merged together. The first celebrations were called “play parties.” These were public gatherings that commemorated the harvest. At these celebrations, people danced, sang, told tales of the dead, and told one another’s fortunes. People also shared ghost stories and took part in mischief-making. Halloween was not nationally celebrated until the second half of the 19th century. During this time, new immigrants — particularly the millions of Irish escaping from the Irish Potato Famine — aided in the holiday’s national recognition. Trick-or-treating also emerged from European customs. This practice came about in America when people started dressing up in costumes and going from house to house asking for money or food.
With Halloween holding American culture so captively, it’s strange to think that it was around for such a long time before finally being introduced to the United States. Today, stores fill their aisles with jack-o-lanterns and witch hats as early as August. People simply cannot wait for this holiday to come around the second they feel the autumn chill in the air — and honestly, who could blame them? While it may be full of strange superstitions and eerie tales, Halloween has truly become an American staple and an annual tradition around the globe. With “spooky season” thriving among us once again, it is rather compelling to reflect on the origins that got us here.