The History of Halloween - Best Haunted Houses

Latest Reviews

The History of Halloween

One of the most celebrated annual holidays in the United States is Halloween, its popularity stemming from its being a time of fun and socializing. Halloween is the short term for All Hallows Eve which is the night before All Hollows Day or All Saints Day. To fully understand Halloween we must dig back in time.

samhain_bonfire

The history of Halloween goes back 2000 years to the time when it was celebrated as the Samhain festival of the Celt people. Celts are the ancestral race of modern Ireland, Britain and people of Northern Europe.

The Samhain festival was a pagan celebration for the coming of the dark and cold part of the year, marking the end of the light and warm time. In the Celtic calendar it is also the beginning of the year.

The Celts believed that during the eve of New Year, the border between our world and the dead became so thin that souls could pass through. In order to protect themselves, Celts disguised themselves by wearing masks and costumes. The Celts thought that these would deceive the harmful spirits, thus avoiding harm.

ancient-celts-or-gauls-sacrificing-a-cow-c.1800-18

ancient-celts-or-gauls-sacrificing-a-cow-c.1800-18

The Samhain festival was also a celebration to protect the harvest and livestock. Often the Celts would stock the harvest and the slaughtered livestock to prepare for the winter which was associated with the coming of destructive fairies. One of the major activities of the festival was the bonfires; it is said that on the eve of the festival most Celts extinguished other lights and the Celtic priest or druids built a huge bonfire. All gathered together to burn the bones of the slaughtered livestock and crops as a sacrifice to their pagan deities.

In 43 A.D., the Romans conquered most of the Celts’ borders and territories. For four hundred years, the Romans controlled the Celts, hence two of the Roman original traditions merged with the Celts Samhain celebration. The first was the Feralia, the Romans’ festival of the dead held with prayers and sacrifice to commemorate the dead family member or friends. The second was Pomona, a festival in honor of the Roman goddess of fruit trees and the symbol of abundance.

In the seventh century, the influence of Christianity spread in the land of the Celts. During those times, Pope Saint Boniface IV attempted to replace the old Celtic festival of the dead with a more Christian-like festivity. He advocated All Saints Day as a time to honor saints and chose November 1 as its celebration day. The festivity was also termed All-hallows, meaning Day of the Saints. The eve of the Samhain festival was then called All-hallows Eve and then eventually shortened to Halloween. In 1000 A.D., the church designated November 2 as Day of the Souls, a day to honor the dead. It was a celebration like the Samhain Festival; people enjoy bonfire, parades and dress in costumes and wear masks. The eve of all saints, the All Saints Day and the day of All Souls was called Hallowmas, and from then it was celebrated in many different countries.

halloween-mask

Halloween was brought to America during the Irish Potato Famine in 1845 to 1849, when a large number of Irish immigrants entered the country. In 1870, Scottish emigration to Canada and America brought the Scottish version of Halloween. Between 1905 and 1915, Halloween was widely commercialized in the United States by Halloween postcards; hundreds of postcard designs were released in the country. In 1909, Dennison Manufacturing Company published its first Halloween catalog with it became one of the first to commercialize Halloween decorations. Isolated references to ritual begging occured in 1911 in a newspaper in Kingston, followed in 1920 in Chicago.

In 1927, a media print was released regarding ritual begging but the reference termed it trick or treats. After World War II, trick or treat became popular in the United States; treats include apple, homemade sweets and commercially produced candy. In the late twentieth century, Halloween increased its popularity in different age brackets, mainly because the once young generation became adult and continued to practice the holiday celebration with their children.

In 1973, mask maker Ralph Lee started the biggest Halloween celebration in the United States; it is now attracting millions of spectators and participants all over the world. In the 1990s, varieties of large yard decorations were produced, like scarecrows, witches, orange string lights, jack-o-lanterns, inflatable plastic or rubber decorations, and animatronics window and door decorations. Halloween has become a major generator of revenue to some commercial businesses. The holiday appeals to both children and adults, increasing the number of customers for decorating materials, candies and costumes.

Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States; it brings joy and happiness to many people of different ages. Celebrated with family, friends or by yourself, it will add more pleasure to your celebration to know the history and facts of Halloween.