Believe it or not, Halloween was not always what we know it as today. Although the idea of Halloween has been generally stagnant throughout history, there are many aspects of the holiday that may be surprising. Many people celebrate Halloween every year, but are unaware of where Halloween originated from or what it even stood for. The history of Halloween is interesting, intriguing, and spooky! The information I’ll discuss in this article is all from History.com.
Halloween is based off of the Celtic festival Samhain. During this festival, the Celts would wear costumes and light fires in an effort to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century November 1st was considered “All Saints Day,” which was a time for people to celebrate those who have passed. The night before All Saints Day was called “All Hallows Eve,” which eventually evolved into Halloween.
These festivities were considered the last hoorah before the long, cold months that were to come. The Celts believed that on this night, the lines between the living and the dead were blurred and that the dead were free to roam the earth. Although this may sound frightening to most people, the Celts sought comfort in this idea, as they believed that the presence of these spirits encouraged priests to make predictions about the future.
When ideas of Halloween began to migrate to America from Irish immigrants, many traditions were changed. For example, instead of practicing these festivities only with their village people, as the Celts did, Americans made these traditions into huge parties where people would dance and sing. They also did not burn any fires. Although Halloween was being introduced into American culture, most of America did not celebrate the holiday until immigrants from Ireland came to America.
After time, Halloween evolved into what it is today. This is mostly because of different cultures adopting similar traditions and making them their own. Instead of lighting bonfires and wearing animal skins, people dressed up in costumes and received candy. Although Halloween is much different than Samhain, it is interesting to see how the holiday evolved throughout history. Halloween ultimately remained the same idea throughout time, but instead with different traditions and norms.