From Samhain to Halloween: The Origins of Halloween
Located in between fall and winter, life and death, and beliefs and superstitions, Halloween is a time of celebration and candy eating almost all over the world. Even though it is known and celebrated worldwide, most people don’t know much about its origins, which adds to the mystery and suspense of the holiday itself.
It all started with Celtic farmers, who inhabited Ireland and the United Kingdom 2,000 years ago. The tribes of Celtic farmers believe that each year there was one day where the season of life met with the season of death, and they called this day Samhain, which was on November 1st. On the day before, October 31st, farmers believed that the malevolent spirits could raise form the dead and walk among the living to haunt them the next day. To prevent the spirits from attacking their tribes, Celtic farmers at night created huge bonfires and dressed up in order to look “unrecognizable” for the spirits.
During the 8th century, Pope Gregory the II established a “All-Hallows” day, a day honoring all saints, both known and unknown on November 1st. The Europeans accepted the new holiday and joined their own traditions to it, where they celebrated on October 31st, calling the celebration “All-Hallow’s Eve”. From that name, people started calling it Hallowe’en for short, which eventually turned into the day we all know as Halloween.
Even though this celebration was not as famous in the Americas, as people started to migrate in and out of the continents, traditions began to spread. The bonfires that were originally made to scare off the spirits turned into lanterns that were carved from pumpkins, now know as Jack-o-lanterns.
The disguises that were also used by Celtic farmers turned into the costumes we buy today. The tradition of trick-or-treating is unclear on how it began, but some people think it came from the custom of souling. Souling was the tradition of poor people to go from home to home and prayed to the souls of each family’s dead, in exchange for small cakes to eat. In addition, young children would also go from house-to-house reciting poems and telling jokes in exchange for food and money.
After all those years of superstition and the changing of Halloween traditions, Halloween has finally come into one set form. The Halloween we know today consists of trick-or-treating, parades, bobbing for apples and other family-friendly activities. This holiday has become so popular in the US that Americans spend $6 billion every year, making it #2 on the list of holidays Americans spend more money on, after Christmas. Who would’ve though a tradition meant to scare the malevolent spirits away would turn into such a pleasurable holiday?
Keep Calm and Haunt On.
Information provided from History Channel’s “Haunted History of Halloween”: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/videos#haunted-history-of-halloween
By: Carolina Franco
Located in between fall and winter, life and death, and beliefs and superstitions, Halloween is a time of celebration and candy eating almost all over the world. Even though it is known and celebrated worldwide, most people don’t know much about its origins, which adds to the mystery and suspense of the holiday itself.
It all started with Celtic farmers, who inhabited Ireland and the United Kingdom 2,000 years ago. The tribes of Celtic farmers believe that each year there was one day where the season of life met with the season of death, and they called this day Samhain, which was on November 1st. On the day before, October 31st, farmers believed that the malevolent spirits could raise form the dead and walk among the living to haunt them the next day. To prevent the spirits from attacking their tribes, Celtic farmers at night created huge bonfires and dressed up in order to look “unrecognizable” for the spirits.
During the 8th century, Pope Gregory the II established a “All-Hallows” day, a day honoring all saints, both known and unknown on November 1st. The Europeans accepted the new holiday and joined their own traditions to it, where they celebrated on October 31st, calling the celebration “All-Hallow’s Eve”. From that name, people started calling it Hallowe’en for short, which eventually turned into the day we all know as Halloween.
Even though this celebration was not as famous in the Americas, as people started to migrate in and out of the continents, traditions began to spread. The bonfires that were originally made to scare off the spirits turned into lanterns that were carved from pumpkins, now know as Jack-o-lanterns.
The disguises that were also used by Celtic farmers turned into the costumes we buy today. The tradition of trick-or-treating is unclear on how it began, but some people think it came from the custom of souling. Souling was the tradition of poor people to go from home to home and prayed to the souls of each family’s dead, in exchange for small cakes to eat. In addition, young children would also go from house-to-house reciting poems and telling jokes in exchange for food and money.
After all those years of superstition and the changing of Halloween traditions, Halloween has finally come into one set form. The Halloween we know today consists of trick-or-treating, parades, bobbing for apples and other family-friendly activities. This holiday has become so popular in the US that Americans spend $6 billion every year, making it #2 on the list of holidays Americans spend more money on, after Christmas. Who would’ve though a tradition meant to scare the malevolent spirits away would turn into such a pleasurable holiday?
Keep Calm and Haunt On.
Information provided from History Channel’s “Haunted History of Halloween”: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/videos#haunted-history-of-halloween
By: Carolina Franco