Halloween, A Brief History!

Halloween has so much history, more than pumpkins and candy. It grew from a mix of Celtic seasonal traditions, Christian observances, and customs that immigrants brought to North America. 

The earliest roots: Samhain

One important ancestor of Halloween is Samhain, a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest seasons and the beginning of winter. In Ireland and other Gaelic regions, this seasonal turning point was associated encounters between the human and supernatural world. Bonfires, gatherings and beliefs about wandering spirits became part of their traditions!

The name itself however has a somewhat Christian origin. All Saints' Day, also called "All Hallows' Day, honors saints and martyrs. Its observance on November 1 became established in Western Christianity during the early medieval period. The evening before was All Hallows' Eve, which eventually became Halloween.

Besides that, there's also a history behind the costumes and trick-or-treating development. There were quite a few customs to celebrate back then including, Souling. Souling is where people visited homes and received food, including "soul cakes," in exchange for prayers for the dead. Guising: In Scotland and Ireland, people dressed in disguises and performed songs, poems or other entertainment for food or money.

These customers helped shape what we do today (trick or treating, dressing up, treats).

By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Halloween increasingly featured parties, games, costumes and community celebrations. Organized festivities also offered communities a way to channel Halloween mischief and all that into less crime filled incidents as misdemeanors and felonies spike every Halloween of course. 

There are so many people around the world even, that absolutely love Halloween and all the dark, spooky fears that wait for them during this month and there's nothing wrong with that. I also love Halloween so much, you can dress up and be anything :) 

Bonus fact: Before pumpkin lanterns became familiar, people in Ireland and Scotland carved faces into turnips and other root vegetables. The tradition became associated with stories about Stingy Jack, a trickster condemned to wander with a light inside a hollowed-out turnip