The History of Halloween

by Allison Jones

Halloween is both an ancient holiday and a modern tradition. Many of our customary activities on this day spring from the pre-christian Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-en) while the name of the holiday itself comes from the christian All Saints Day or All-Hallows. But the modern form of our secular Halloween did not begin to take shape in America until the 1930's.

Samhain was the end of the harvest and the year for ancient Celts and celebrated on or about November 1. Because for the Celts the days began with sunset the festival started the evening of October 31. For them this was an in between time, neither summer nor winter, and this carried over into all of the beliefs of this holiday. Samhain was the time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead were thinnest and so the spirits, both good and bad, were able to cross over and wander the living world. It was also the time when society's structure and order gave way to chaos. The living would leave food out for wandering spirits while they celebrated with bonfires and fortune-telling. The spirits meanwhile were causing mayhem.

When the Romans conquered the Celtic people two of their holidays were merged with the practice of Samhain. Feralia was a festival to commemorate the passing of the dead that was celebrated in late October. The festival for the goddess Pomona was also celebrated near that time and commemorated the harvest, especially from the fruit trees. This is probably where the practice of bobbing for apples comes from.

With the coming of Christianity the church tried to redirect the festivities into more appropriate activities. While originally celebrated May 13, All Saints Day replaced Samhain on November 1 followed by All Souls Day November 2. All Saints Day was the feast day for all the Christian Saints who didn't have their own feast day and All Souls Day was the time to honor ones ancestors and pray for the souls of those in purgatory. Though the night before, October 31, still ended up given over to mischief makers.

In the Late medieval period a practice known as souling began. The poor and children would go door to door on All Saints Day asking for food in exchange for praying for the souls of that families dead relatives the next day on All Souls Day. They may even carry a lantern made from a carved turnip. (Pumpkins are native to the new world and replaced turnips as they are larger and far easier to carve.)

Irish and Scottish customs involved a practice of guising. The young men would dress up in costumes, collect treats from the community on threat of pranking, and generally cause mischief. The girls would stay indoors and play divination games. These practices were brought with the immigrants as they came to America in the 19^th Century. Costumes were originally worn to avoid being recognized or bothered by the wandering ghosts. The modern practice of trick-or-treating didn't spread until the 1930's but its roots were present before then.

Today Halloween is entirely secular and is a time to celebrate with your community and try to scare each other senseless. It is an excuse to have fun and flout society's standards. With how the modern world seems to keep us all separated it is good to have a time to connect with your neighbors and take a break from the daily grind.