The History of Halloween

It would seem that October 31st has always been about funny costumes, bobbing for apples, and just general mischievous fun. However, it didn't start out as a festive holiday of tricks and treats. Most people even believe that Halloween has its roots in demonic worship rituals. In truth, Halloween is a modern American shortening of All Hollow’s Eve – the night before the catholic All Hallows Day or All Saints Day, a day for remembering the saints. That's where the word comes from, but the traditions originated in Celtic Ireland and were brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants.

Around the 5th century BC the Celts officially ended summer on October 31st at a time when they believed the laws of space and reality were briefly suspended and spirits could move between the living world and the afterlife. This day was called Samhain, pronounced "Sow-in," and was the Celtic New Year. During this time, the spirits who had died that year would come back and try to possess a living body as their only hope in an afterlife. To make themselves seem less desirable, the ancient Celts would dress in ghoulish costumes and cause as much chaos as possible. Hence, the mischievous pranks.

Eventually, the Romans adopted the concept of Samhain with their other October holidays. One such holiday was the day of Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. Her symbol was the apple. It's possible that today people bob for apples as a result of this absorption of Celtic culture. Trick-or-treating may have originated in 9th century Europe on All Souls Day, November 2nd. The early Christians would walk from village to village carrying "soul cakes." Soul cakes were square pieces of bread with currants. We have Irish folklore to thank for grinning Jack-O-Lanterns. An Irish drunk named Jack was said to have trapped Satan in a tree through trickery and carving a cross into the tree's trunk. After Jack's death, he wasn't allowed into Heaven because of his evil ways, nor was he allowed into hell because he had tricked Satan. Jack was doomed to wander for all eternity, and the devil gave him an ember to light his way and placed the ember in a hollowed turnip so that it would last longer. The Irish kept their "Jack's Lanterns" burning in turnips until they came to America and discovered pumpkins were more plentiful.

So, Halloween is only as evil as some people want to make it out to be. While it is true that Halloween started out as a pagan holiday, it was never evil. And now, it is loved by children everywhere.