Ancient Origins of Halloween
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.
This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.
When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
Halloween Parties
By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secular but community-centered holiday, with parades and town-wide Halloween parties as the featured entertainment. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague some celebrations in many communities during this time.
By the 1950s, town leaders had successfully limited vandalism and Halloween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated.
Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats.
Thus, a new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday after Christmas.
Halloween Quotes
“I love Halloween, and I love that feeling: the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner.”— Evan Peters
“It's all just a bunch of hocus pocus!”— Max, Hocus Pocus
"Halloween was the best holiday, in my opinion, because it was all about friends, monsters, and candy, rather than family and responsibility."– Margee Kerr
“Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night.”— Steve Almond
"The farther we've gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we've come to need Halloween."— Paula Curan
“I love Halloween, and I love that feeling: the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner.”
— Evan Peters
“It's all just a bunch of hocus pocus!”
— Max, Hocus Pocus
"Halloween was the best holiday, in my opinion, because it was all about friends, monsters, and candy, rather than family and responsibility."
– Margee Kerr
“Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night.”
— Steve Almond
"The farther we've gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we've come to need Halloween."
— Paula Curan
