Each year, on October 31, people around the world walk around houses in scary costumes asking for “trick-or-treat”. Most of us are familiar with Halloween, however, few know about the origins of this annual tradition which is celebrated in most anglophone countries.
The origins of Halloween go back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain 2000 years ago in which people ignited bonfires in order to fight ghosts and other spirits. According to the Celtic calendar, October 31st marked the last day of the year. Thus, Samhain was a modern version of our New Year celebrations nowadays. As the Celts were polytheistic, the pagan celebration of Samhain involved numerous traditions in order to establish a bonding to spirits. While there is no detailed information available on these rituals, historians suppose that the Celts performed the Samhain in costumes.
Christian Influences on Halloween
With the spread of Christianity, the pagan aspects of Samhain were reduced or evolved differently by keeping the basic roots of the tradition. In the 18th century, the pope Gregory III declared November 1 as a day to pay tribute to all saints. Later on, November 1 was marked as „All Saints Day “ in which some rituals of Samhain were integrated. The evening before All Saints day was called „All Hallows Eve“, known as Halloween today.
The Arrival of Halloween in the U.S.A.
While the Puritans discouraged people from participating in Halloween, the holiday gained in popularity with the immigration of Irish people in the 1800s. Gradually, more and more people in the U.S.A began to celebrate Halloween. Anoka, a city in Minnesota, is considered to be home to the earliest official Halloween celebration. In 1920, a parade and bonfire accompanied the celebrations there. Anoka even considers itself as the „Halloween Capital of the World“ nowadays.
Halloween Today
Nowadays, we can observe that Halloween celebrations include both older customs as well as new developments. Above all, it is known for its fun activities such as trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and carving pumpkins. It is a dynamic holiday that changes over time and is celebrated slightly different in every country. While in the United States people dress in all different types of costumes, like comic superheroes, fictional characters and animals people in the United Kingdom associate Halloween with an explicitly spooky event and thus predominantly wear scary clothing and make-up.
