Halloween as we know it today means dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, and eating lots of candy. Throughout history these traditions have and continue to be changed over time. Many different countries and religions have a variety of Halloween traditions and celebrations. Here just a few of the origins of everyone’s favourite holiday as we know it; Halloween.
Celtic Traditions and Origins
Celtic traditions often originate from Ireland, as does the ancient Celtic festival of Samhian celebrated on the first of November. This celebration marked the end of the fall harvest, and the beginning of winter which was a time of year most associated with death. In this Samhain festival it is believed that those who have died were returning home to visit their loved ones, while those who had died in the past year were visiting the otherworld. Many Celts set fires and wore masks to ward off evil spirits; while other Celts believed that these spirits made it easier for druids and priests to see the future. To celebrate this ability they would build fires, sacrifice crops, and attempt to tell each other’s fortunes. However, by 43 C.E. the Roman Empire overtook the majority of the Celtic territories resulting in many of the Roman traditions getting combined with the Celtic Samhain celebrations.
Now, the traditions of Ireland differ from their original Celtic celebrations. Similar to the celebrations in North America, Irish children dress in costumes and trick-or-treat. Ireland still holds many of their own customs, such as the game “snap-apple” and eating the traditional food barnbrack.
Roman Traditions and Origins
All Saints Day was celebrated by the Romans since well before the 9th century when they conquered much of Celtic Europe. It was in 609 A.D. that Roman Catholic Pope Boniface IV officially moved All Saint’s Day, traditionally celebrated on May 13, to be in line with the Celtic traditions on November 1. It was on this new Christian Observance, that the night before All Saint’s Day became a hallowed eve, or as we know it, Halloween. It was a few hundred years later that November 2 was officially named All Soul’s Day and became a day to honour the dead.
Latin American Traditions and Origins
Throughout Latin America (and Spain), similar to Rome and later Celtic celebrations, they also celebrated All Soul’s Day taking place on November 2. However, in Spanish it is known as Día de los Muertos, which we now know as Day of the Dead. This three-day celebration begins on October 31 and is designed to celebrate the dead who are believed to return home on Halloween night. Candles are lit to shine light for many deceased loved ones’ way home, and they will often find food, pictures, and many other lights waiting for them upon their arrival. Many of these traditions have roots to the ancient Aztec Empire, honouring rituals over 3,000 years old.
American Traditions and Origins
At the time of colonization, Halloween was not widely celebrated throughout the Thirteen English Colonies in (what is now) the United States due to Protestant belief. Celebrations of Halloween were more common in colonies like Maryland. This was the beginning of the distinct traditions of North American Halloween as the English celebrations travelled to the New World with the colonists and mixed with the indigenous celebrations and beliefs. Many of these traditions included sharing stories of the dead with neighbours and mischief making of all kinds. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that the United States was flooded with new immigrants and it brought many more traditions from different backgrounds together to create our modern day North American Halloween.
Halloween continues to be a favourite holiday celebrated in widely different ways across the globe. Halloween may look different this year, but it does not mean you can not celebrate!
To find out more about these historic Halloween traditions check out the links below: