While many people around the world celebrate Halloween in different forms, most do not know the origins of the holiday. Halloween in the United States has only evolved into the holiday that we recognize today over the last one hundred years or so, but the roots of the holiday go much deeper than that. The actual word Halloween, or Hallowe’en dates back to 1745 and is a Scottish word meaning holy evening. The phrase “All Hallow’s Eve”, as it is said in Old English, became widely used around 1556.
Traditions of Halloween
The majority of American Halloween traditions can be traced to the Celtic celebration Samhain (pronounced sow-in). Samhain means “end of summer”, and the festival was a harvest celebration. October 31 was celebrated as the New Year in many religions at that time, as it was the end of the lighter and more abundant half of the year and the beginning of the darker and more frugal half. Although the celebration focused on many practical themes, there was also a superstitious counterpart.
The Celts believed that on this night the veil between the worlds was thin, and both spirits and mischievous faeries could make their way to this realm. In order to save their crops from the faeries plunder, farmers tried to finish the harvest by this time. Children and families would carve a turnip or other hard fruit or vegetable and light it with a candle. This was thought to both guide kindred spirits home and ward off those that may mean harm. There were also games and rituals thought to lead the spirits back to their proper family, and allow them a safe passage back to the spirit realm.
The origins of trick-or-treating are controversial, but “guising” was practiced in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales during the 16th century. This practice involved children going from house to house in disguises, asking for food in exchange for verses or songs. Many similar traditions are practiced throughout the world.