Trick or Treat
Every year on October 31 we all know that it’s the day to dress up, bring out our spooky side, and celebrate the holiday known as Halloween. Where does Halloween come from? What is its purpose? These are some questions we ask ourselves and the meaning or purpose may not be exactly what you thought it would be. Let us dive into a little bit of history and discover some new facts before this holiday season.
Trick or treating, fall festivals, the fair, witches, lions, tigers, and bears o my. What do all of these things have in common? It all comes back to one event, Halloween. Halloween’s origin dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The fare that is now Ireland celebrated their new year on November 1st, but on the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain which they believed was night the ghost of the dead returned to earth. The Celtic would build huge bonfires to burn crops and sometime animal sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.
Pope Boniface IV started a festival in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, which then Pope Gregory III later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs which was moved to November 1st. All Souls’ Day as they called it was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up as saints, angels, and devils. The All-Saints’ Day was also called All-Hallows or All-Hallowmas which began to then be called All-Hallows Eve and eventually became Halloween.
Americans began to dress up in costumes and house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s trick or treat tradition. In the late 1800s there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get together than about ghosts and witchcraft. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything frightening or grotesque out of Halloween celebrations. Because of this Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the 20th century and is celebrated as seen today.
