A History of Halloween

Halloween is here and what better time to trace the chain of celebration back through history to explore the origins of this calendar staple? Each year, the build-up to 31 October is marked with spooky anticipation. Costumes, sweet treats, pumpkin carving, scary movies, and, for the 601-inclined amongst us, Fright Night at the Union. Fun for all. But, where exactly did this commercial match-made-in-heaven come from? 

To understand this, we must search all the way back to the ancient Celtic pagan festival of Samhain (pronounced sah-win). For the Celts, this time of year marked the transition from the summer harvest season into the darker winter months — a period in which the living became increasingly surrounded by death. It was thought that the barriers to the underworld were passable during Samhain, and so people welcomed their deceased family members back with a place at the dinner table. However, this liminal state of affairs also allowed the mischievous and potentially vengeful spirits to cross over into reality. To prevent this dangerous situation from wreaking havoc in their homes, people took precautions to deceive, appease, and protect themselves from these evil spirits — precautions that will raise an air of familiarity for all with Halloween experience. 

One of these necessary and practical precautions was to dress up in disguises of animals and monsters to blend in with the spirits from the underworld. This ‘guising’ process was meant to prevent spirits from identifying the living people, ruling out any prospect of them being kidnapped and clawed down to the underworld. Early modern people celebrating Samhain in the Scottish Highlands would later call back to this folk tradition and dress up as the scary spirits their ancestors were said to have protected themselves against. They marched the streets, going door to door, reciting verses, and singing songs in exchange for the food offerings historically intended for the spirits — not so far detached from trick-or-treating.

Another of these practices was the igniting of bonfires to ward off the incoming ghosts and ghouls of the underworld. The bright orange flames, a reflection of the sunlight lost to the dark winter period, were thought to both burn away the perilous influences of the spirits and promote a continuation of growth. Picturing this deep and intense burning orange in front of the equally intense backdrop of a pitch-black night sky provides an easy explanation of these colours’ central place in modern Halloween celebrations. As part of this ritual burning, participants would take a flame home with them to light their fireplaces. Being at the end of the harvest season, a time when there were root vegetables aplenty, the vessel for transporting this flame in the Middle Ages tended to be a turnip. It is this tradition that would eventually develop into the carving of pumpkins and the creation of jack-o’-lanterns, providing the quintessential image of modern Halloween. 

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III established All Saints’ Day on the 1 November, and, in an effort to invite participation from pagan populations, allowed many of the traditions of Samhain to be practised during the Christian festival. The word ‘Halloween’ actually comes to us from All Hallows’ Eve, which marked the night before this celebration. So how did this example of religious syncretism, with its roots in Celtic pagan activity, transform into a commercial holiday? It was not until the mass trans-Atlantic immigration of the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in the United States and subsequently mainland Europe. Whereas the early Puritan settlers of New England were averse towards Samhain traditions, this wave of settlers from Scotland and Ireland brought with them their festival, spreading its traditions across the country — traditions that would be the precursor to Halloween costumes, trick-or-treating, and jack-o’-lanterns. 

And so a Celtic pagan festival came to be the consumerist frenzy of Halloween that we see today. This present connotation is what Halloween is most known for. However, when you look out today to the orange and black-clad houses, you might well see the flames of those ancient Celts fending away the undead spirits at the turn of the winter that so threatened their livelihoods. 

Illustration by Amelia Freeden