As the weather gets chillier, the days get shorter and pumpkins are showing up everywhere, that’s when you know Halloween is around the corner. We all know Halloween as the spooky holiday where we all dress up and watch scary movies with candy in our hands. But do we really know the true meaning of Halloween?
The year round tradition originated from the ancient Celtic Festival of Samhain. The festival occurred on October 31 each year and was New Year for the Celts. (Celts are people that lived in ancient Ireland, Uk, France etc). On this night it was believed that ghosts would return from the dead. They would dress up in costumes and have huge bonfires lit to sacrifice animals and crops. In the 9th century, Christanity was spread into the Celtic lands. The night before Samhain was called All-Hallows Eve, and then Halloween. The celebration of Halloween emerged to America and the first celebrations included play parties, dancing, sharing stories and telling each other fortunes. 

As the holiday progressed, European folklore made an appearance in America with trick-or-treating. Americans started going house to house dressing up and asking for money or food. Ghosts, witchcraft and pranks around the neighborhood were common on the night of Halloween, but over the years parents complained about how some costumes were too gruesome or frightening. Therefore, Halloween lost some of it’s mythical spirits by the twentieth century. 

Now in 2021, while we are in the pandemic that we never thought would happen, trick-or-treating isn’t the same anymore. Less people are going out on Halloween night and taking safety precautions. But the halloween spirit is still there! 

https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween