As a classic symbol of fall festivities and traditions, Halloween has long been a staple of households and families worldwide. Weeks in advance, as spooky decorations crowd the front lawns and porches of participating streets, many eagerly prep for a night of costume parties. And this one night is the only night of the year special enough not only to rejoice in the fear of traditional Halloween horrors but, more importantly, to be able to eat buckets of candy without a care in the world! However, before another Halloween passes by, here’s a glimpse back into the holiday’s mystical origins and how some peculiar practices have now become customary norms.
Millennium Old Beginnings
So how did Halloween really begin? Today, we celebrate Halloween on October 31st, a day that dates back to ancient Irish Celtic practices from nearly two thousand years ago. Just for a bit of background, the Celts were a group of fairly diverse peoples--held together only really through similar languages and cultures. Geographically, they established themselves in modern England and Ireland territories.
Samhain: The Halloween Precursor
The first of November marks the Celtic New Year, which, unlike the typical January first New Year that you and I celebrate, had been actually regarded as a dark and unpredictable time. Because it represented the start of bitter winters and the ends of fruitful fall harvests, death and the deceased were often associated with this New Year. As a result, the Celts celebrated their last day of fall through a festival called ‘Samhain’ the night prior. Samhain also offered a light-hearted escape of entertainment within the difficult period of winter preparation (similar to how Halloween gives us a nice break from school!).
Those that attended wore costumes of animal heads and skins to honor rare times with ghosts that they believed could join in on the festivities. Then when the Roman Empire later ruled over these northern lands, Roman traditions of All Saints’ Day mixed with the Celts’ Samhain. Over the years, the celebration of Halloween was born!
Costumes and Trick-or-Treating
As for arguably the most defining feature of Halloween, dressing up in costumes--aside from the old Celtic usage of animal skins--is thought to be a more modern take on the “mumming” or “guising” custom of gothic times: a practice where woven straw disguises were put on before going door to door asking for food. Then in the United States, since “trick-or-treat” began to popularize, it created the perfect opportunity for rebellious kids and teens to use the “tricks” part as an excuse for vandalism and property destruction. Attempts to mellow out these dangerous pranks then encouraged the safer alternative of wearing a costume and trick-or-treating. With this, our classic Halloween was created--just today, there is much more emphasis on the ‘treat’ portion rather than the ‘trick.’ (And hopefully it stays that way!)
So the next time Halloween rolls around and you see your neighborhood transformed into a display of fake cobwebs and jack o’ lanterns, take a bit of time to take in how what once was the stressful period of fearing for winter had blossomed into a sugar-filled night of fairies, pirates, and bedsheet ghosts!
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Cover Photo: Pixabay
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