The origin of Halloween

A walk through history

Emilie Le Beau

Chicago Tribune

Harry Potter, Miss Piggy and a giant cow are standing on your front porch, demanding candy. No, this isn’t a weird dream. It’s Halloween. But why do we dress up every year, carve pumpkins and try to scare each other? Halloween actually is a combination of several ancient holidays. The first Halloween celebrations were pagan festivals called “Samhain,” practiced by the early Celts. During Samhain (pronounced “Sow-en”), people celebrated the lives of dead ancestors and marked the end of the harvest season.

As paganism faded in Europe, Samhain traditions were adopted by celebrators of All Hallows Eve. The holiday later was called Halloween for short, and was a day of tribute to Christian saints. The next day, All Souls Day, was a day to honor the souls of dead relatives.

As people of various European cultures immigrated to America, they brought along their autumn customs. Our modern Halloween is now a blend of many traditions. Wondering where your favorite Halloween rituals come from? Read on.

Trick or treating

During Samhain, villagers would offer a big feast to dead ancestors. In order to prepare, groups of people would go door to door and ask for feast donations. Stingy households were given a threat, which later was called a trick. When All Hallows Eve replaced Samhain, children would go house to house and beg for soul cakes. The simple bread desserts with jam toppings were exchanged for prayers for dead relatives on All Souls Day. The more cakes a person gave, the more prayers the children promised to say.

Scary costumes

Thinking of being a witch or monster for Halloween? Dressing up in a scary costume is an ancient custom. Samhain celebrators believed evil spirits could come back and mingle among the living, causing terror. Worried Celts dressed as demons, ogres or ghouls in hopes a bad spirit wouldn’t recognize them.

Bobbing for apples

Life could be unpredictable for the Celts, and many pagan traditions centered on predicting good fortune. People bobbed for apples as a way of testing their fortunes. Those who could bob their heads into water and catch the skin of an apple with their teeth were thought to be able to grasp good fortune.

Jack-o-lanterns

When you carve a pumpkin, do you like to make a happy, grumpy or scary face? The Celts always made scary faces, because they feared the return of evil spirits during Samhain. They would carve the faces on pumpkins and set the lit pumpkins on their doorsteps. They hoped the scary faces would frighten evil spirits and keep their houses safe.

Black cats

Maybe your little Inky wouldn’t hurt a flea, but during the Middle Ages, Europeans feared black cats. They believed the felines were the constant companions of witches. They also suspected witches could transform themselves into black cats. Because of both fears, a black cat crossing your path was considered an omen of bad luck.

Spooky stuff

When you decorate for Halloween, do you include cutouts of bats, owls or spiders? Our fear of these animals also stems from pagan beliefs. Early Celts though these nocturnal creatures spoke with the devil at night.