by: William Penne
The origins of our modern-day Halloween celebration have a long history dating back to ancient times with a Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced sah-wen), which took place on Oct. 31 and continued into November 1. During this time, the Celts would light bonfires and dress up to ward off spirits. It was believed that on this day, the lines between the worlds of the living and the dead were blurred and spirits could freely walk the Earth.
The Celts also believed this day to be the beginning of winter, and so they would pray and sacrifice to their deities for a good winter. As they prepared to enter the “dark half of the year,” according to an article from History.com, the Celts were aware of their dying crops. They understood the Earth’s dormant period and would take the time to reflect on those who had passed on and to come to terms with their own mortality.
Around the 8th century A.D., Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as All Saints’ Day, and this eventually included some of the traditional pagan rituals of Samhain. Around a century later, Nov. 2 was designated as All Souls’ Day, which many scholars now believe was used to replace the Celtic festival of Samhain. This is how the Westernization of Halloween came to be.
Many of the traditions that we know today, like trick-or-treating and jack-o-lantern carving, have little root in Western Europe (specifically of Irish and French heritage), but mostly originated in the southern colonies of the newly formed United States. New England did not have much celebration during Halloween due to their strict protestant beliefs. However, in colonies such as Maryland, records have been taken of some of the first modern Halloween traditions.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, many autumnal festivals were held, but Halloween was not a common festival. However, with the arrival of a flood of Irish immigrants in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Halloween came to be practiced nationwide. It was also around this time that communities tried to make Halloween more about gathering and neighborliness than about spirits and witchcraft.
The modern ritual of trick-or-treating has both European and Celtic roots. It was common for the Celts to dress up during their Samhain festivals to ward off spirits. Thousands of years later, in Europe, it became common for children to dress up and recite verses in exchange for food, and bowls of food were left outside of peoples’ homes to appease spirits and discourage them from entering their home.
“An important takeaway is to recognize what Halloween means to different cultures and people because to some, this holiday is about more than discounted candy and Halloween parties”
To get some outside perspective on this, Lucy Busker, a professor in the Humanities department here at Parkland College, provided the Prospectus with her own thoughts on the holiday. Busker used to be a practicing Wiccan, and although she left that behind her years ago, she still thinks about the meaning of Halloween.
“For me, it becomes this whole period of change,” said Busker. “And it becomes a period of reflection, I think.”
Busker continued to tell me about how in Wiccan belief, Samhain and the end of October and beginning of November becomes a time of reflection of natural processes. She described how a lot of Wiccan belief revolves around the natural world and the processes that come with it and that this time is often associated with death and it becomes a time to reflect on it.
Halloween has a long and storied history. An important takeaway is to recognize what Halloween means to different cultures and people because to some, this holiday is about more than discounted candy and Halloween parties.
