Spooky season is here and we are already planning our Halloween outfits in our heads! However, did you know that Halloween is a lot more than just the tricks and treats and dressing up scary? Known to have originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where people would light a bonfire to ward off the evil spirits, there’s a lot more to this festival than what meets the eye. So apart from the usual where to party at, what to dress up as and how to prank people this Halloween, here is everything you need to know about why and how this festival came into being.
The Ancient Origins
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. These Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. They also believed that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Celtic priests, known as Druids, to make predictions about the future.
The Druids built huge sacred bonfires to commemorate the events and the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.
An American version of Halloween emerged when the American Indians caught on to the beliefs of the different European ethnic groups. The first celebrations included play parties, which were public events held to celebrate the harvest. Since the 1920’s Halloween has spread around the globe like wildfire. Kids dress up and head out trick or treating or while young adults throw costume parties etc.
The History of ‘Trick or Treat’
Halloween is synonymous with trick or treating. We’ve seen it in movies and read about it in books. But did you know the American Halloween tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England? During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.
This distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling,” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighbourhood and be given ale, food and money.
Also, to avoid being recognized by the ghosts that were apparently roaming around, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. So that’s how ‘trick or treat’ as we know it today came into existence!
Featured Image Source: Foundation for Economic Education
