When most people think of Halloween, they think of pumpkin carving, funny costumes, iconic movies and tons of candy (unless you had a neighbor who liked to pass out toothbrushes as I did). But, how did this holiday come to be?
As a child, I heard stories about Halloween costumes being worn to blend in with the spirits who were released on Halloween – stories which I thought were both unbelievable and terrifying. After doing some research, I found that these stories are actually based on the true origins of Halloween, Samhain and All Hallow’s Eve. Samhain is a Celtic celebration meant to ward off the ghosts that entered our world. The Celts believed that the end of summer was a time where the barrier between the spirit and human worlds were very thin and ghosts were able to creep into our world. They would leave food out for the spirits on their doorsteps and would disguise themselves from the spirits if they absolutely had to leave their homes. I highly doubt that they dressed as Post Malone or any of the Avengers, but the sentiment still remains with costumes today. All Hallow’s Eve, the day before All Saints Day, is a Christian holiday and the origin of the word “Halloween”. The holiday has many similarities to Samhain, though it made sure to replace the pagan ideas with Christian traditions. On this day, people would dress as saints or martyrs that they felt particularly attached to. As Christianity spread, so did All Hallow’s Eve and All Saint’s Day, replacing the original pagan celebration.
But how did we go from dressing like saints to trick-or-treating? The answer is a mix of immigration and capitalism. The holiday became very popular in America during the wave of Irish immigration in the 1800s, as the Irish Catholics continued to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve. They brought over their traditions of dressing in costumes and trick-or-treating. Over time, Halloween parties became popular because people could celebrate this weirdly fun holiday with their friends and family. With the popularity of the holiday came businesses who wanted to make it rich with costumes or candy or jack-o-lantern carving kits. Some people argue that Halloween has become corrupted by corporations and others say that people have lost sight of its real meaning, I think that the holiday is still a time to celebrate the new fall season and have some fun with friends and family. Some of my favorite memories as a child were dressing up for Halloween and going door to door with the other neighborhood kids. Plus, you could always skip the candy until the after-Halloween sales to really stick it to the man.
So this Halloween, while you hunt for your candy and watch “Halloweentown” for the billionth time, make sure to watch out for those ghosts and dress as your favorite saint to celebrate the true origins of Halloween!!