Halloween is a holiday that marks the evening before the Western Christian feast of All Saints, or All Hallows, and hence it initiates the season of Allhallowtide. In much of Europe and North America, celebration of Halloween is largely nonreligious.
Halloween, a holiday observed annually on October 31 and noted for its pagan origins and its Christian roots as well as its secular traditions. In much of Europe and most of North America, observance of Halloween is today largely nonreligious, celebrated with parties, spooky costumes, pumpkin carvings called jack-o’-lanterns, and trick or treat. Halloween also marks the beginning of Allhallowtide, a Christian triduum (Latin: “period of three days”) dedicated to remembering the dead that begins with All Hallows’ Eve (October 31) and is followed by All Hallows’, or All Saints’, Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2).
Trick or treat is the practice of pulling usually harmless pranks if treats are not given. Celebrants wear masks and costumes for parties and for trick or treat, a ritual thought to have derived from the British practice of allowing the poor to beg for food called “soul cakes.” Trick-or-treaters go from house to house with the threat that they will pull a trick if they do not receive a treat, usually candy. According to Scottish accounts, this practice evolved from All Saints’ Day, when children and poor adults would collect food and money from local homes in return for prayers for the dead. Later, when the festival became secular, this practice of prayers for the dead was replaced by tricks, songs, and jokes. Before there was trick or treat as we know it today, there was mumming. It was an early form of Irish trick or treat, in which celebrants dressed as spirits performed silly acts in exchange for food and drink.
Pumpkin jack-o’-lantern carved for Halloween, lit from inside with candles.
The Thousand-Year History of HalloweenLearn about Halloween’s connection to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.
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Halloween is believed to have connections to the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Ireland. On the day roughly corresponding to November 1 on contemporary calendars, the new year was believed to begin. This date was considered the beginning of the winter period, when livestock were brought in from pasture and land tenures were renewed. It was a common belief that, on the eve of Samhain, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead blurred, and spirits could roam on earth. It was held that the souls of those who had died returned to visit their homes and those who had died during the year journeyed to the otherworld.
People set bonfires on hilltops to relight their hearth fires for the winter and possibly to frighten away evil spirits. People sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by ghosts believed to be present. In such ways, witches, hobgoblins, fairies, demons, and the like may have come to be associated with the day. The Samhain period was deemed favorable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death. According to some accounts, when the Romans conquered the Celts of Britain in the 1st century, they brought their own festival of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and traditions related to Pomona, the goddess of fruit trees and orchards.
Although Halloween has religious roots, by the end of the Middle Ages the secular and the sacred days of All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day had merged. The Reformation essentially put an end to the religious holiday among Protestants, although, in Britain especially, Halloween continued to be celebrated, now as a secular holiday. Along with other festivities, the celebration of Halloween was largely forbidden among the early American colonists, although in the 1800s there developed festivals that marked the harvest and incorporated elements of Halloween. When large numbers of immigrants, including those from Ireland, came to the United States beginning in the mid-19th century, they brought their Halloween customs with them, and in the 20th century Halloween became one of the principal American holidays, particularly among children.
Over the centuries, Halloween has accumulated various traditions, superstitions, and symbols. Many of these are believed to have medieval Christian, and possibly pre-Christian Irish, roots.
The jack-o’-lantern and the legend of Stingy Jack.
A popular symbol associated with Halloween is the jack-o’-lantern, which is a hollowed-out pumpkin with a face carved into it and a candle lit inside. The practice originated in the British Isles, where people used large turnips or other vegetables rather than pumpkins. In Irish folklore, the jack-o’-lantern is associated with the tale of Stingy Jack, a man who tricks the Devil for monetary gain. According to the tale, Jack invites the Devil for a drink and persuades him to turn into a coin to pay the bill. When the Devil turns into a coin, Jack quickly places it in his pocket beside a silver cross, which prevents the Devil from escaping. The Devil is freed only after he promises not to bother Jack for a year or claim his soul after death. A year later Jack tricks the Devil again—this time persuading him to climb a tree for fruit while Jack carves a cross on the trunk to trap him. Jack releases him only after extracting a 10-year reprieve. When Jack dies, neither heaven nor hell accepts him. Condemned to wander in darkness, he is given a glowing coal to light his way, which he places inside a hollowed-out turnip. His wandering spirit came to be known as Jack of the Lantern, or Jack O’Lantern. Thus, the carving of turnips—and, later, pumpkins—was believed to aid people in guiding or warding off wandering spirits.
Dressing up in costumes and masks is a Halloween tradition that may go back to both ancient Irish and medieval practices. During Samhain, people may have worn animal skins or disguises to confuse or hide from the spirits of the dead, which were supposedly believed to roam the earth on that night. This idea of donning a costume to ward off or blend in with otherworldly beings may have inspired the modern practice. The options for Halloween costumes have expanded to include not only scary characters but also superheroes, celebrities, and more. Along with these, the holiday has incorporated scary beings such as ghosts, witches, and vampires into the celebration.
