Halloween’s Lost Origins
Ever since you were a child, you’ve most likely celebrated Halloween. But have you ever wondered why we celebrate Halloween? Why do people dress up in costumes and trick or treat? These questions will soon be answered.
First off (as you’re most likely unaware): How did Halloween start?
According to History.com, sometime about 2,000 years ago, a European tribe known as the Celts celebrated a holiday known as “Samhain.” This holiday was celebrated on the 31st day of October, which was the final day of the summer, and the return of the winter. The winter often resulted in mass amounts of deaths, as ancient tribes did not have the necessary amount of food and warmth to provide to all people that we have today.
Because of all of the death and gloom that would come, the Celts believed that ghosts and demons would haunt them that day, tampering with their crops and means of life.
Furthermore, as the Celts believed in the presence of spirits from the dead, The Celts would build large fires and wear costumes to praise the deities, along with predicting each other's future.
Years later, in 1000 AD, the religion of Christianity spread across Europe and encountered the lands where the Celts would partake in their rituals. Combining these two cultures, the Christian church made November 2nd “All Souls Day,” where the dead would be honored.
Just like Samhain, All Souls’ Day would be celebrated by people dressing up as biblical figures, such as angels and devils. Throughout the years, the name of All Souls Day would evolve into “All-Hallows Eve”, and eventually, Halloween.
After multiple events across Europe made people immigrate to the United States, those who celebrated Halloween shared their traditions with American residents, eventually morphing it into an American holiday as well, instead of just a European one.
But you may ask, throughout all of this, where did trick or treating come from? It had nothing to do with Samhain or All-Hallows Eve! I can explain that as well.
From various earlier iterations of Halloween, there was always a theme of giving away or receiving something. This would morph into “trick-or-treating,” which as we know, is the process of children knocking on the door of someone's house, and asking them for candy. But it wasn’t always this way, as it used to be much different, and much more discriminatory. Originally, only women could partake in “trick-or-treating”, where instead of asking for candy, women would do various “tricks” to impress others, showing they were capable of being someone’s wife in the future.
Over time this changed, as in the 1920s, trick-or-treating expanded to include everybody, not just women. This started Halloween parties, movies, music, and of course, trick-or-treating.
And finally, all of that takes us to today, where Halloween is presented as a non-religious holiday, and asking strangers for candy is a normal thing for children to do. Though the origins have been forgotten by many, we can hope that in the future more people know about the Celts, All Souls’ day, and the origins of Halloween, as it does give people a better understanding of the holiday, and a reason to celebrate Halloween on October 31st.
Have a happy Halloween!
If you have any questions, comments, or criticism, feel free to email me!
SOURCE: https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#:~:text=The%20tradition%20originated%20with%20the,of%20the%20traditions%20of%20Samhain.
