It’s Halloween season, but not many people know the true history of Halloween. Whether you know the story or think its all a bunch of hocus pocus, the story will be sure to rock you to your bones. We will be going over the origin of Halloween along with the history of some popular Halloween activities.
Origins:
Halloween started over 2000 years ago in Celtic Ireland where the holiday Samhain was celebrated. The Celtics believed that a veil separated the spirit world from the human world. During Samhain, the vail disappeared letting the spirits roam free in the real world until midnight where they would return back to the spirit world. The Celts would wear face paint to hide from spirits and offer them food in exchange for peace. They also thought the spirits were able to tell the future and would try to communicate with them. When the Christians arrived, they didn’t like all the stuff about ghosts, so they turned it into a holy day to get rid of the pagan roots. They made November first All Saints Day, a day to celebrate Christian martyrs, and Samhain was renamed All Hallows Eve which eventually just became Halloween. This practice spread all over Europe and eventually to America.
Trick or Treating:
Most people know trick or treating as going door to door asking for candy, but that’s actually not how it started. In Germany during All Hallows Eve, kids would play pranks on people for fun, but when people started leaving treats and cakes out as offerings trick or treating became a practice. When people would leave out treats, they would be fine but if someone forgot or just didn’t do it they would be pranked, Hence trick or treat. Eventually Halloween would be commercialized and the practice would be more tame, but the idea still remains.
Pumpkin Carving:
Pumpkin carving is probably the most famous of Halloween traditions, and its history is probably the most interesting. It starts as a story about a man named Stingy Jack. Stingy Jack was a clever but evil man. When the Devil heard about Stingy Jack, he decided he wanted Jack’s soul. When he came to claim Jack’s soul, Jack, being a very smart man, tricked Satin twice. Jack trapped him both times until the Devil agreed to never claim Jack’s soul into hell. When Jack died he was rejected from Heaven because of his evil deeds, but the Devil also could not let him into hell because of their agreement. Jack was left to wander earth with only an illuminated turnip as his light source. People started carving turnips to protect themself from Stingy Jack, but eventually this just turned into tradition. When the Irish started immigrating to America, they kept their practices. However, turnips are not native to America, so the settlers had to use the next closest thing; pumpkins.
Horror Films:
Horror films have become a huge part of the Halloween tradition having been shown at parties or just watching it at home by yourself. One of the most famous horror films, Halloween, should give you a clue on how important it films are to the Halloween culture. Scary stories have always been a part of human history, but due to the invention of television, the horror genre has taken a huge rise since the 70s. In this period, technology allowed producers to create more graphic depiction. As technology keeps evolving, we keep getting more and more thrilling movies.
Modern Halloween:
So how did the pagan rituals evolve into Halloween as we know it today? When the Irish immigrants came to America because of the Great Potato famine they brought their beliefs with them. Eventually Americans commercialized candy and costumes as a way to make money, and the pumpkin carving, along with some other traditions, have became a fun pastime for families to bond over. Scary movies have become a huge part of our culture in general and is one of the most watched movie genres. All these factors have shaped the holiday as we know it today.
