History of Halloween traced to Celtic festival
By: Tracy Lyall
Issue date: 10/30/08 Section: News
On Friday night people will dress up in Halloween costumes to wander the streets, and young children will rap on the doors of strangers to spew out the familiar chant of "trick or treat."
But what is Halloween? Where did it originate, and how did it become what it is today?
Halloween was derived from an ancient Celtic festival referred to as Samhain (sow-in.) (The Celts inhabited the British Isles 2000 years ago).
Oct. 31 was originally the Eve of the Celtic New Year. It celebrated the end of the harvest and beginning of winter, which was associated with death. The ghosts of the dead were believed to return to the earth on this night.
The Celts believed the Celtic priests were able to make predictions about the future in the presence of the spirits. Sacred bonfires were built to appease the Celtic deities and fortunes were told while wearing "costumes" of animal heads and hides.
Christianity spread into the Celtic land by the 800s, causing the Celtic festival to merge with All Saint's Day; also called All-Hallows. It is believed that Pope Boniface IV was trying to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a church holiday. The night before, the night of Samhain, was All-Hallows Eve, which was eventually called Halloween.
As different European groups meshed together in America, the American Halloween began to emerge. Annual autumn festivities were common in early America but did not evolve into Halloween until the second half of the 19th century. It was during this time that millions of Irish fled Ireland's potato famine of 1846 to come to America. The Irish tradition of dressing up and going door to door asking for money became an American practice.
Sometime after the turn of the century, Halloween was celebrated with parties focusing on games, food, and costumes. Halloween became a community-centered holiday by the 1920's, incorporating parades and entertainment. Yet, vandalism made its way into the holiday as well. Soon after, the holiday began to be directed primarily at the young. Trick or treat worked its way back into the festivities and parties began in the class-rooms.
But what is Halloween? Where did it originate, and how did it become what it is today?
Halloween was derived from an ancient Celtic festival referred to as Samhain (sow-in.) (The Celts inhabited the British Isles 2000 years ago).
Oct. 31 was originally the Eve of the Celtic New Year. It celebrated the end of the harvest and beginning of winter, which was associated with death. The ghosts of the dead were believed to return to the earth on this night.
The Celts believed the Celtic priests were able to make predictions about the future in the presence of the spirits. Sacred bonfires were built to appease the Celtic deities and fortunes were told while wearing "costumes" of animal heads and hides.
Christianity spread into the Celtic land by the 800s, causing the Celtic festival to merge with All Saint's Day; also called All-Hallows. It is believed that Pope Boniface IV was trying to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a church holiday. The night before, the night of Samhain, was All-Hallows Eve, which was eventually called Halloween.
As different European groups meshed together in America, the American Halloween began to emerge. Annual autumn festivities were common in early America but did not evolve into Halloween until the second half of the 19th century. It was during this time that millions of Irish fled Ireland's potato famine of 1846 to come to America. The Irish tradition of dressing up and going door to door asking for money became an American practice.
Sometime after the turn of the century, Halloween was celebrated with parties focusing on games, food, and costumes. Halloween became a community-centered holiday by the 1920's, incorporating parades and entertainment. Yet, vandalism made its way into the holiday as well. Soon after, the holiday began to be directed primarily at the young. Trick or treat worked its way back into the festivities and parties began in the class-rooms.
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