From bonfires to baskets: a haunted history of halloween

Halloween is upon us, but how much do you know about the holiday's history? All Hallow’s Eve dates back to the Celts, who lived over 2,000 years ago.

Originally, the holiday was called ‘Samhain.’ The Celtic people believed that October 31 was when the spirit realm and the living realm were connected, allowing ghosts to walk the Earth.

Of course, this sounds familiar to those who know the Mexican holiday, La Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), but Samhain also introduced many of our Halloween traditions.

The Celts believed trickster ghosts came to harm the crops so they would die out before the winter. To prevent this, they would build a large bonfire to sacrifice crops and animals, all while dressed in costume… sound familiar?

Another form of protection from spirits was carving faces into produce, usually turnips, and placing candles in them. The faces were used as lanterns, as most people could not afford metal ones. Of course, we all carry on this tradition using pumpkins instead of turnips.

Even after the Roman Empire conquered the Celts, the traditions of Samhain remained strong. The Romans created two festivals at the end of October that carried on similar traditions to Samhain.

One holiday, Feralia, was intended to celebrate the dead. The other holiday took on the role of celebrating the harvest by worshiping the Roman goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees.

Fast forward a few hundred years, and Christianity has now spread to the Celtic land. The church declared November 2 to be All Soul’s Day, a holiday to once again honor the dead. The day before was All Saint’s Day, to honor saints and martyrs.

However, All Saint’s Day was also called All Hallows Day, based on the Middle English term for All Saint’s Day, ‘Alholowmese.’ Thus, the day before All Saint’s Day, and the day of the original Samhain festival was called All Hallows Eve. Eventually, the name would evolve into what we know it to be today: Halloween.

Later, the celebration of Halloween would spread to colonial America. Celebrations included parties where guests would share ghost stories, dance and dress up. By the latter half of the 19th century, Halloween was celebrated and popularized; partially thanks to many people from the Celtic land, now Ireland, migrating to America during the potato famine.

Thus, the holiday we all know and love was created. A rich history dating back centuries brought us to what we have today. When you’re out and about on All-Hallows Eve, remember to thank those superstitious Celtic farmers for giving us our beloved holiday. Happy Halloween!