History of Halloween

Halloween. A popular festival, its origins unknown to most. Do you know ‘witch’ place it originated from? Lets talk about it.

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Halloween has been around for over 2,000 years. “Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2022 will occur on Monday, October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes, and eating treats.” (Halloween 2009)

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Halloween is always associated with bats because when the Celtic Samhain festival happened, they would light a bonfire which would attract bugs. The bugs then attracted bug-eating bats. Spiders and black cats are associated with Halloween because they were believed to be companions of witches in medieval times. Some people believe that if you see a spider on Halloween a loved one’s spirit is watching over you. Halloween is also associated with Pumpkins. Hundreds of years ago in Ireland, Pumpkins were carved into scary faces to scare ghosts and spirits away from their houses and farms. In this day and age, people from all around the world carry this tradition during Halloween. 🐾

Ghosts are also a major component of Halloween. Ironically, it started with people scaring ghosts to people turning into them! 

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The most important part of Halloween is costumes. Dressing up as scary or funny characters alleviates the spookiness and funness of Halloween. 

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Halloween has evolved a lot, from people being scared and trying to ward off evil spirits, to costume contests and candy corn.  It started with Wiccan people celebrating the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, and it turned into an international holiday favored by a lot of people, especially kids, so pick up your costumes and prepare your bags because Halloween is near!