Ever wonder where Halloween started and why?

The word Halloween, actually has its origins in the Catholic Church.  It comes for the words All Hallows Eve.  November 1, All Hallows Day, or All Saints Day, is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints.  However, in the fifth century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31.  This was the day of the ancient Celtic fire festival called Samhain, which means All Hallowtide, the feast of the dead, signalizing the close of harvest and the initiation of the winter season.  Samhain was the New Year to the Celts. The end of summer was significant to the Celts because it meant the time of year when their lives changed radically.  The cattle were brought down from the summer pastures in the hills and the people were gathered into the houses for the long winter nights of story – telling.  The Celts believed that when people died, they went to a land of eternal youth and happiness.  They did not have the concept of heaven and hell that Christian church has today. 

Why was Halloween so important to the Celtic people?

In the Celtic belief system, turning points, such as the time between one day and the next, the meeting of sea and shore, or the turning of one year to the next were seen as magical times.  The turning of the year was the most important of these times.  This was the time when the living could communication with their deceased loved ones. The Celts did not have demons and devils in their belief system.  However, the spirits were often considered hostile and dangerous to humans because they were seen as being resentful of men taking over their lands. 

The druids were priests of the Celtic peoples. They passed on their teachings by oral tradition instead of committing them to writing, so when they died, most of their religious teachings were lost.  We do know that this festival was characterized as one of the four great “Fire Festivals” of the Celts.  Legends tell us that on this night, all the fires in Ireland were extinguished, and then re-lit for the central fire of Druids at Tlachtga.  To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.  This fire was kindled from fire, which had been generated by the friction of rubbing two sticks together as opposed to more conventional methods common in those days.  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.  The extinguishing of the fires symbolized the “dark half” of the year, and the re-kindling form the Druidic fire was symbolic of the returning life hoped for., with the aid of the priesthood.

Why is dunking for apples played on Halloween?

Celts thought that the presence of the spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.  We learned about many of the fortune telling practices associated with Samhain through folk tradition.  Among the most common were interpretations of omens dealing with marriage, weather and the coming fortunes for the year.

These were performed through such methods as dunking for apples, and apple peeling.  Dunking for apples was a marriage fortune telling method.  The first person to bite and apple would be the first to marry in the coming year.  Apple peeling was a prediction to see how long your life would be.  The longer the unbroken apple peel, the longer your life was destined to be.

How did Halloween arrive in America?

When the potato crop in Ireland failed, many of the Irish people immigrated to America.  They brought their practices with them, which are the remains of the Celtic festival ceremonies.  The Celts had 3 harvests: Aug 1, or Lammas, was the first harvest, when the first fruits were offered to the Gods in thanks.  The Fall Equinox was the “true harvest”. This was when the bulk of the corps would be brought in.  Samhain was the final harvest of the year.  Anything left on the vines or in the fields after the date was considered blasted by the spirits and unfit for human consumption.

Why do we dress up in costumes?

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots.  Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time.  Food supplies often ran low and the short days of winter were full of constant worry.  On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes.  To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits.  During the Halloween celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, while attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. 

Who thought up Jack-O-Lanterns and why?

Another custom that we have today is the Jack – o – lantern.  This custom probably comes for Irish folklore.  As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious for being a drunk and a trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree.  Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree’s trunk, trapping the devil up the tree.  Jack made a deal with the devil that if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.  According to the folk tale, after jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil.  Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness.  The ember was placed inside a hollowed – out turnip to keep it glowing longer.  The Irish used turnips as their “Jack’s lanterns” originally.  But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips.  So the Jack –O-Lantern in America was a hollowed out pumpkin, lit with an ember.  However, this myth was obviously started some time after the original Celtic fire celebration since Christianity, along with heaven and Satan, had not yet been introduced to them. Another possible origin for the turnip Jack-O-Lantern is that it was simply a way to keep the ember burning longer as the Celts returned form the bonfires.

Why do we go door to door asking for treats and where did the tricks come from?

On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, Celts would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.  In addition to the spirits, many humans were abroad on this night, causing mischief, since this night did not belong to one year or the other, Celtic people believed that chaos reigned and the people would engage in horseplay and practical jokes.  This also served as a final outlet for high spirits before the gloom of winter set in.  During the course of these practical jokes, many of the people would imitate the spirits and go from house to house begging for treats.  Failure to supply the treats would usually result in practical jokes being visited on the owner of the house.

The American tradition of “trick –or-treating” probably combines these acts of chaos and the early All Souls’ Day parades in England.  During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.  The distribution of sole cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits.  The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given food, and money.

Where did the name “Halloween” originate?

In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs.  It was widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church – sanctioned holiday.  The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and , eventually, Halloween.  Even later in 1000 A.D., the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead.  It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils.  Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.

How did Halloween become a holiday mainly for the young and young at heart?

As the distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge, the first celebrations included “play parties, “public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance and sing.  Colonial Halloween festivities also featured the telling of ghosts’ stories and mischief – making of all kinds.  By the 1920’s and 1930’s, Halloween had become a worldly, but community-centered holiday, with parades and town –wide parties as the featured entertainment.  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.

Should Christians celebrate Halloween?

Although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite “holiday,” the day itself did not grow out of evil practices.  It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year.  Satan is a belief of the Christian faith which was not presented to the Celts until long after the Samhain traditions were started. Today, even many churches have Halloween parties or pumpkin carving events for the kids.  After all, the day itself is only as evil as one cares to make it.

Where did we get all this information? 

Chadwick, N. (1982) The Celts.  Harmondsworth: Penguin Books

Cosman, P. (1981) Medieval Holidays and Festivals.  New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons

MacCana, P. (1970) Celtic Mythology.  London: The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited

Powell, T. (1980) The Celts.  New York: Thanes & Hudson

Sharkey, J. (1975) Celtic Mysteries.  New York: Thanes and Hudson

Squire, C. (1975) Celtic Myth & Legend, New Your: Newcastle Publishing Co., Inc.