Halloween: History of the Holiday
Halloween is a traditional celebration held on October 31st. Today, Halloween is an excuse for Halloween theme costume parties, and entertainment with horror films, haunted houses and other activities around the popular themes of ghosts, witches, Dracula, werewolves and the supernatural. Children love to dress up in halloween costumes and go from door-to-door in their neighborhood following the old tradition of trick-or-treating, collecting sweets and gifts, sometimes money.
Originally a Celtic festival, Halloween arrived in North America when Irish, Welsh, and Scottish immigrants whose ancestors had celebrated Halloween continued the tradition in America. From there, Halloween has spread into most Western countries where English is spoken, including Western Europe. This is partly due to Halloween’s synthesis into American pop culture.
Halloween began as a festival devoted to the link between the living and dead that was celebrated by pagans. The date of the celebration corresponded to the time when the supposed connection between the spirit and physical worlds was strongest and thus supernatural events most commonly occurred. These celebrations eventually came to be called Halloween when the growing Christian church made its activities part of All Hallows Day, also known as All Saint’s Day, a holiday who’s Gregorian calendar date was November 1.
On the evening of October 31, All Hallows Evening, a vigil was held for the following day’s celebrations. All Hallows Evening was eventually referred to as Hallowe’en and finally the Halloween that is celebrated throughout the world.
Ireland is where traditional Halloween celebrations have remained the strongest. There, children would traditionally dress as supernatural creatures, getting stores of nuts, fruit, and sweets from neighbors that would be used in the celebrations. Each town celebrated the end of summer by getting together and setting a large bonfire in order to protect them all from evil spirits.
These were used for playing traditional games like eating an apple on a string or bobbing for apples and other gifts in a basin of water, without using your hands. Salt might be sprinkled on the visiting children to ward off evil spirits. Carving turnips as ghoulish faces to hold candles became a popular part of the festival, which has been adapted to carving pumpkins in America.
The trick aspect to trick or treating as it emerged in North America seems to have more obscure origins. It may be a merging of the collection of treats with another separate old tradition, especially in Ireland, where children would sometimes engage in secretive mischief at Halloween. The original intention was for the activities of mischievous Halloween spirits to be blamed.
Kids usually played innocent and clever tricks on adults they didn’t like so much, putting commonly used objects of theirs where they couldn’t be found on the night of Halloween.
The traditional Halloween celebrations come round every October 31st, and these days those who enjoy the festivities the most are the children. Halloween is a time to dress up in fancy dress and take to the streets trick or treating....
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