Every year on Oct. 31, kids dress up in costumes and traipse around their neighborhoods trick or treating. For many, Halloween signifies the leaves changing colors, choosing new costumes, pumpkin carving, eating candy and spending time with their community. However, Halloween used to be far more important than collecting candy and having the best costume.
More than 2,000 years ago, the Celtic people of modern-day Ireland and Scotland celebrated a holiday called Samhain, which means , ‘summer’s end’ in English. According to “The Celtic Origins of Trick-or-Treating,” written by Brandon Tensley, it was observed on Nov. 1, and honored the coming harvest while remembering those who had passed. Although, it was also believed that on this day, the barrier between the living and the dead became so thin that powerful creatures, such as fairies and demons, could leave the land of the dead and stalk mortals for one night only. To avoid harm, people left food offerings outside their doors and dressed up to blend in with any creature that had slipped into the living world. This practice survived for thousands of years in the Pagan community. The term “Pagan” refers to groups that follow nature-based religions. Oftentimes these communities were polytheistic, believing in multiple gods, and celebrated holidays that corresponded with cycles of the seasons.
During the late 17th century, the Catholic Church was trying to find ways to convert many of the northern Pagans to Catholicism. Pope Gregory III declared that All Saints’ Day, a day in the Christian religion to honor recognized saints, should be moved from its original date of May 13 to Nov. 1 to align with Samhain. He began calling this day All Hallows’ Day, hoping to create a holiday surrounding the holiness of the saints and trick the Pagans into celebrating with the church instead.
In some ways, the plan worked. Many Pagans started to show up to churches on Nov. 1 for All Hallows’ Day. However, contrary to what the pope expected, Samhain didn’t disappear. According to “Origin”, “…the evening before All Hallows’ Day, called All Hallows Eve continued to be observed with bonfires, costumes, and ghost lore.” Many Pagans began celebrating Samhain on Oct. 31 with their usual traditions, but went to church to honor the saints on Nov. 1. The reason for festivities on Nov. 1 shifted towards Christianity, just as the pope had hoped, yet the beliefs of Samhain still survived the mass conversions of Pagans to Christianity.
The 1840s brought mass immigration to America from European countries, including Ireland and Scotland. Many of these individuals brought the traditions of All Hallows’ Eve to the U.S. In immigrant communities, All Hallows’ Eve thrived and even spread among newly settled immigrants from other countries. Many children began dressing up and going door to door, telling residents that they were from the land of the dead and would haunt the house unless given a food offering. This activity became known as trick-or-treating in the late 19th century. However, outside immigrant communities, All Hallows’ Eve and trick-or-treating was not widely observed.
This all changed after World War II, when America no longer had rations on food, especially sugar. Many factories needed to find new uses and wealthy businessmen would sometimes pick them up to make candies, which had recently gained popularity. These businessmen quickly realized that the tradition of trick-or-treating on All Hallows’ Eve was great for business, as small individual candies were much easier to pass out than homemade foods. To popularize All Hallows’ Eve they coined a new name, Halloween, to make it a fun holiday to trick-or-treat and dress up for.
Today, Samhain is not widely celebrated, even in America. However, it can serve as a powerful reminder of history. Unfortunately, it shows the erasure of many traditions, religions and cultures due to colonization, forced conversions and greed. That said, the history behind Halloween shows the strength of beliefs even through difficult times. Even as Christianity displaced Pagan communities, their beliefs adapted and endured. Through the shifts from Samhain to All Hallows’ eve to Halloween, the traditions may have changed but were never erased. Although the rich and powerful men of many generations tried to completely eradicate Pagan beliefs, Halloween stands as a powerful reminder of the people and cultures that refused to disappear. So next time you pick out a Halloween costume, or go trick-or-treating, remember the culture that was able to break through all the barriers placed in front of it to be celebrated all across the United States.
