It is time to go trick-or-treating! The lawns are all filled with carved-out pumpkins and houses, haunted with spooky decorations. The end of October is fast approaching and it is Halloween, putting an end to a year-long wait. The ghost costumes and candies remain to be one of the major symbols of this festival.
Today Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays among Americans and the number of people celebrating it goes up every year. Over the years, mass media and the entertainment industry have given the celebration a whole new face. The celebrations that happen today are way different from what used to be practiced in the past. So what is the origin and history of the festival?
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Halloween: Origin And History
The roots of Halloween can be traced back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the beginning of shorter and darker days of winter. In the belief that the dead would come back to visit, the people wore masks and left food at the doorsteps. They thought that this would serve as a distraction for the spirits. By medieval times, children started going around to different houses asking for food in exchange for poems, jokes, and songs.
It was the Christian Church that modified the festival. They celebrated November 1 as All Saint’s Day in memory of deceased saints and then October 31 became All Hallows Eve or Halloween. In the 19th century, it was the Irish and Scottish immigrants who bought these customs and celebrations to the US. It wasn’t until 1950 that the festival took to form it is seen today.
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Celebrations In The U.S.
When the festival spread across the country, it was forbidden to celebrate due to religious reasons. However, it gained some popularity in the Southern colonies. Slowly the fall festivals marking the seasonal harvest, incorporated in them the Halloween elements. In addition to it, the Irish immigrated to the US due to the potato famine. With them came more of the Halloween festivities. It was in the latter half of the twentieth century that trick-or-treat and dressing up started. Today, the tradition has become much more of a secular celebration where people come together to mark the age-old practice of wading off spirits.
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