The Origins of Halloween
So, here we are once again in ‘trick or treating season!’
The 31st October is definitely a bit of spooky fun for children (and adults!) but do you know the history
of this ancient tradition and how it all started?
This tradition dates some 2,000 years back, to an ancient Celtic festival called ‘Samhain’ (correct pronunciation sow-ain).
The Celts believed that Samhain was one day of the year when there was a blurry gap between our world and the spirit world. Because of this it made it easier for the spirits of the dead and the underworld to return to our world.
In order to observe and commemorate the day, the Celtic people would build huge bonfires to ward off evil spirits and wear animal head costumes to scare off the dead. They would also entertain themselves by fortune-telling.
Over the course of many years and as the Romans set about conquering much of Europe, Christianity spread into the Celtic lands and the traditions of these beliefs and cultures slowly blended. Eventually, the Christian festival of “All Saints’ or “All Souls Day” (also known as All-Hallows) took over and the night before, which is called ‘All Hallows Eve ‘lead to the name ‘Halloween’.
Halloween Traditions
‘Trick or Treat’ began hundreds of years ago in medieval England, when people would go door to door offering a pray or a song in exchange for food.
This was known as ‘Souling’ and took place on All Saint’s Day when Christians would traditionally pray for their loved ones. During the Victorian era, the food that was given to people ‘Souling’ door to door was often a type of pastry called a soul cake
It is only in modern times that this tradition evolved into what we know now of people offering sweets and chocolate on the doorstep.
Scary Costumes and Pumpkins
Spooky outfits have always been worn to scare away the evil spirits lurking in the shadows, but pumpkin carving was a tradition that the Irish originally introduced to America in the 19th century. In Ireland, they used to carve faces in turnips, but they soon discovered that pumpkins were much easier to grow in America, so the tradition evolved into pumpkin carving instead and is what we are familiar with today.
The scary faces carved into pumpkins were originally thought to scare away a mythical spirit called Jack.
Whatever your trick or treating this Halloween, have fun, stay safe and have a ghoulishly fun time!👻 👻🧙🏻
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
