How Did Halloween Start?

Over 2000 years ago the Celts lived in France, England, and Ireland before the expansion of the Catholic Church. They were farmers, and the summer's end harvest was the end of the year for them.

Celts and Samhain

October 31st was a Celtic new year’s eve celebration called “Samhain.” The harvest had ended and the long cold winter was about to begin. This was a time of death for the Celt people since the impending cold weather meant that sickness would soon abound. All the inhabitants of the areas would come together to celebrate the harvest and make offerings of their crops and animals to their gods on this day.

The day was named after the Lord of the Dead. The Druids (the Celtic priests) ruled over the celebration. They believed that on this night the separation between the world of the living and the world of the dead was the thinnest and that the ghosts of the dead could roam the Earth in search of a body to possess They also believed that the spirits could cause damage to future harvests.

The Druids would build a big bonfire that everyone would gather around to celebrate and make their offerings to appease the spirits. They would thank the good spirits for their blessings over the past year. At the end of the celebration, they would relight their hearths from the sacred bonfire to protect their home through the coming year.

The Celts dressed up in costumes, usually animal heads and skins, to appease evil spirits and protect themselves from them, and told fortunes to one another. It was also a time for crazy behavior, usually harmless pranks, and children would go to their neighbors and ask for food.

Romans Add Their Celebrations

Eventually, the Romans conquered the Celts, and combined two festivals with Samhain. One was Feralia, a day for remembering the dead, and the second was a day to honor Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. Pamona’s symbol was the apple, and this was integrated into the celebration and probably was the origin of the game, “Bobbing for Apples.”

Christianity, the Celts and All Saints Day

Christianity came to the Celts around the 800s, and the festival was replaced with All Saints Day, a time to honor martyrs and saints, on November 1st. The word “Alholowmesse” is from Middle English and means All Saints Day.

So, the day was called All-hallows or All-hallowmas, and the night before was called started being called All-hallows Eve. Eventually, this term morphed into Halloween.

Myths of Halloween

Some of the myths and superstitions that surround Halloween are fun, and some can be deadly.

Walking and Footsteps - If you are walking and hear footsteps behind you, you should not turn around because it might be a dead soul and it is considered wrong to look at them. Doing this could mean that death will come soon.
Bloody Mary Myth - If you chant “Bloody Mary” 13 times while looking in a mirror, the evil spirit of the mirror will come out to attack, and it may attack you.
Dumb Supper - You place an empty chair at the table to invite a spirit, usually a dead relative. You have your supper in total silence so the spirit will occupy the chair and join you.
Single Girl and a Lamp - If a girl goes to a spring on Halloween carrying a lamp, she will see the reflection of her future husband in the water. If she also carries a glass with a broken egg in it, she will see the reflection of her future children.
Single Girl and Future - If a girl puts a silver sixpence and rosemary herbs under her pillow, she will have a dream about her future life partner.

Customs of Halloween

Bobbing for apples, costumes, and trick-or-treating all originated with the Celts, but some other cultures have some similar and interesting customs.

Costumes

The original costume and mask traditions started with the Celts and continue today. Ghosts, witches and devil costumes are commonplace today as are costumes of pirates, storybook and movie characters.

Trick-or-Treating

Trick-or-treating also came from a tradition in Europe called “souling.” Beggars would go door-to-door asking for soul cakes. If they received one, they would promise to pray for their dead relatives. It was believed that the beggar’s prayers would lead their souls into heaven.

Halloween Pranks

Also, in the UK, Halloween night was called “Mischief Night” were pranks could be played without fear of retaliation or punishment. Sometimes pranks are part of Halloween festivities.

Carving Pumpkins

Carving pumpkins comes from Ireland, where they carved turnips to symbolize the dead. When they immigrated to the United States, they found pumpkins to be plentiful and started using them instead.

Witches and Black Cats

During medieval times, it was believed that witches could turn into black cats. The cats were then associated with evil, and many were killed. Today, black cats and witches are a big part of Halloween.

Black and Orange

The colors black and orange are used because black stands for darkness or death, and orange is the color of the harvest.