by Layne Liberg

Halloween is just around the corner but most people do not know where and how Halloween originated. A lot of people do not know why we dress up or why bobbing for apples is a popular pastime during Halloween. Halloween started in the Celtic region of Europe around 2,000 years ago. The Celtic people regarded November 1st as the first day of the year. So, on October 31st, the Celts celebrated Samhain, Samhain is the earliest version of Halloween ever recorded. The Celts believed that when October 31st was upon them, the boundary between the afterlife and the living was thin. Since the boundary was thin, ghosts and ghouls would haunt the towns people lived in and made people, as well as crops, die. 

Image Courtesy of Mycuriousmoon.com

However, there was a good thing that came from all of these ghosts. The Druids, priests in Celtic religion, were able to predict the future because of the presence of the ghosts. Many people would ask their local Druid about their future and the Druids predict their future. Many people held on to the predictions to get through the dark, gloomy winter ahead of them. To help the sun move across the sky and get through the winter, Celtic people set up a massive bonfire in the center of town and performed rituals to ensure a good harvest and a short winter. The townsfolk sacrificed crops and other animals to the Celtic gods. It may seem counterintuitive, but the Celtic people truly believed in it. Another way to ensure you were healthy was to make sure the ghosts could not harm you. The Celtic people did this by dressing up as animals and other creatures to scare the spirits away. Furthermore, spirits were silenced by carving turnips. Turnips were common in Ireland; faces were carved in turnips to keep the ghouls at bay. On the contrary, some spirits were welcomed instead of despised. The citizens of the town would leave their doors open in hopes that past loved ones would join them inside. 

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Many years later, when the Romans conquered the Celtic region, new games were introduced and festivities were synthesized with the already existing ones. One such introduction was the Roman goddess Pamona. This goddess was very heavily related to apples so games involving apples were introduced such as bobbing for apples and the consumption of caramel apples. The Romans also propelled the holiday to much more fame because The Roman Empire was very powerful at that time. 

 After the Romans aided the evolution of Samhain, the festival of Samhain was morphed into Halloween with the help of Christianity. This happened because the churches that popped up all throughout the European countryside wanted to override the Celtic festival with their own festival. The day was called All-Hallows Day and would celebrate priests and the dead as well. It was derived from the Middle English word Alholowmesse meaning “All-Saints’ Day”. So, the day before All-Hallows Day was All-Hallows Eve, October 31st, and it later transformed into Halloween which was the day of Samhain. When America was founded with all the immigrants flocking in, the beliefs and traditions came with the Celtic people expanded, grew, and developed on American soil. In America, Halloween was crafted even more into the loveable holiday we know and love today. Over the years, Halloween has been celebrated by people all around the globe for its fun activities, interesting history, and terrific costumes. So, put on your animal skins and carve a turnip, because Halloween has an interesting history. 

Works Cited

History.com Editors. “Halloween 2023.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 11 Aug. 2023, http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023.

State University of Utah. “The Origin of Halloween Comes out of the Sky.” W3C, CSS, 12 Oct. 2002, http://www.halloweencostumes.com/blog/post/2011/06/28/halloween-traditions-around-the-world.aspx. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023.

Thomas, Heather. “The Origins of Halloween Traditions.” Library of Congress Blogs, Carla Hayden, 26 Oct. 2021, blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023.