A History of - All Hallows Eve (Halloween)
A History of - All Hallows Eve (Halloween)
A story of ghouls, goblins, witches and trolls and the night of Halloween
Halloween in the Present
The modern version of Halloween is a very different monster than the version our Celtic ancestors practiced. On October 31st, children dress up in costumes based on their favorite superhero, Disney character, or Bluey. This started between the 1920s and 1950s.
In the late 19th century, community leaders in America wanted to remove superstition from Halloween. To do this, they wanted communities to come together, exchange candy, and wear costumes but leave the ghosts and witches out. One reason community leaders wanted to tame Halloween was that pranks had become rampant and destructive. Also, superstition was on the rise with the influx of mass migration from Ireland.
By the start of the Great Depression, Halloween had turned into a fun little secular holiday for children and young adults. Communities would throw parties, have parades, and generally enjoy themselves—there was no witchcraft involved.
Trick-or-Treat
Before I move on to the earlier history of this holiday, I want to bring up how trick-or-treating started. Since vandalism was a significant problem on Holloween, families were trying to find a way to tone down the pranking. To do this, because the parades had gotten too expensive, people decided to set candy out at their door and greet the costumed hooligans. The deal was, as it were, to either get a treat (candy) or to do a trick (prank). This eventually removed most of the vandalistic practices from the day of All Hallows Eve.
Halloween of the Past
The holiday of Halloween is primarily a combination of two different celebrations. Celtic Samhain was a dark day on which the line between the living and the dead was thin, and evil could easily enter the world. Later, the Christian celebration of All Saints Day celebrated the saints and martyrs of the faith.
Starting in the 8th century, when All Saints Day was started, the two celebrations began to morph. November 1st, the day of Samhain and All Saints Day would become All-Hallows Day. October 31st would be dubbed All-Hallows Eve. Faces would be painted, masks would be worn, and costumes or animal hides would be worn, depending on the century.
As time went on, the superstitious aspects faded while the celebration of the dead continued. November 2nd was also added to celebrate the dead in general, though this day has all but been forgotten.
Bibliography
Onion, Amanda. “Halloween: Origins, Meaning & Traditions | HISTORY.” HISTORY. Last modified November 18, 2009. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween.
Snyder, Christianna. “The History of Halloween and Its Traditions - HauntPay.” HauntPay. Last modified October 30, 2023. Accessed October 30, 2024. https://hauntpay.com/2023/10/the-history-of-halloween-and-its-traditions/.