The Origins of Halloween and Its Traditions

Tracing the roots of Halloween can be difficult because it is one of the oldest celebrations in the world. It was first celebrated by the Celts over two thousand years ago in a celebration called Samhain. October 31 was considered New Year's Eve. It was celebrated as the end of summer and the beginning of winter.

During the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated May 13 All Saints' Day to celebrate all the saints that the church had failed to recognize. It was later moved by Pope Gregory to November 1 in an effort to dissuade Christians from celebrating Samhain. The move helped give Halloween its name. Originally called Allhallows Eve (with no space) or All Hallow Even, "hallow" is the old English word for saint, the term was shortened to Hallowe'en, and the hyphen was eventually dropped.

A couple centuries later, the church designated November 2 as All Souls' Day to honor all the faithful who had died but were not saints. During the ninth century, a European custom called "souling" developed. Christians would go door to door begging for currant buns, called soul cakes. In exchange for a cake, they promised to pray for the souls of the person's relatives. This may be one of the origins of trick or treating, but there are several other theories.

The term "trick-or-treat" does not appear in American culture until the early 20^th century, although the tradition itself predates it. The concept of wearing costumes goes back to the original Celtic festival. The Celts believed that on Halloween, the dead would come back and walk around as ghosts. In order to avoid being recognized by the ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their houses after dark in the belief that the ghosts would believe they were also spirits. They would also place food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and keep them from entering. This is another possible source for trick-or-treating.

Jack-o'-lanterns also have their roots as means of warding of spirits. The Irish used to carve turnips, potatoes or rutabagas and then place coals or a candle inside in order to ward off evil spirits. When the Irish immigrated to America, they discovered that pumpkins were easier to carve.

The term Jack-o'-lantern comes from a story an old story about a man named Jack. Jack tricked the Devil and made him promise not to claim his soul when he died. Unfortunately, Jack was so mean that he wasn't allowed into Heaven. Jack went down to Hell, but the Devil refused to allow him entrance. The Devil did help Jack out by giving him a piece of coal to light his way. Jack placed the coal into a turnip and used it to light his way as he wandered the earth for eternity. He eventually became known as "Jack of the Lantern," which was eventually shortened to Jack-o'-lantern.

Witches and black cats were not part of original Halloween myth. According to legend, witches gathered twice a year when the seasons changed. Once on April 30, the day before May Day, and on October 31st. Black cats were believed to protect witches from negative forces. It was also believed that witches were capable of turning into cats.