Ah, Halloween—the one night of the year where we dress up as ghouls, goblins, or our favorite pop culture icons (anyone else hearing Lindsay Lohan’s voice in Mean Girls here? hahah), carve up pumpkins, and fill our bellies with candy. But how did this spooky celebration evolve? Halloween is one of those holidays that seems straightforward, but it’s actually built on layers of history, mythology, and cultural shifts.
From ancient Celtic festivals to modern-day trick-or-treating, the story of Halloween is a patchwork of traditions woven together across centuries. So, grab your broomsticks (or comfy reading chair) and let’s take a trip through time to uncover the origins of this beloved holiday!
A Simple Halloween Timeline:
2000+ Years Ago
The Celts celebrated Samhain, marking the end of the harvest and the transition between seasons, when they believed the veil between the living and dead was thin. The Druids (Celtic priests) were involved in these celebrations, making animal and crop sacrifices to deities for protection during the coming winter.
9th Century
The Christian Church officially moved All Saints’ Day to November 1, likely in an attempt to Christianize Samhain. All Hallows’ Eve (October 31) became the precursor to modern Halloween.
43 A.D.
During Roman rule over Celtic lands, the Romans incorporated elements of Feralia (a festival honoring the dead) and Pomona (goddess of fruits) into Samhain, blending the traditions.
1840s
Irish immigrants, escaping the Potato Famine, brought Halloween traditions like costumes and jack-o’-lanterns (turnip-o-lanterns more like it, hahah) to America, which shaped modern American Halloween.
Early 1900s
Mischief Night pranks were a major part of the holiday during this period in the U.S. before trick-or-treating became more widespread.
1930s-1950s
Halloween transitioned to a more child-friendly holiday, with trick-or-treating becoming a central activity.
Today
Halloween is celebrated worldwide, blending ancient traditions with modern-day festivities like costumes, parties, and candy.
The Ancient Origins of Halloween: Samhain
The roots of Halloween go back over 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”). The Celts, who lived in what is now Ireland, the UK, and northern France, celebrated their New Year on November 1st. The night before, October 31st, marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark, cold winter—a time often associated with death. It was believed that on this night, the boundary between the living and the dead blurred, and spirits could roam the earth.
Samhain was a festival of fire and fear. The Celts built massive bonfires to ward off wandering spirits and protect their crops for the winter. People would dress in costumes—often made of animal heads and skins—not to celebrate like we do today, but to trick the spirits into thinking they were one of them. They believed this would keep them safe from any mischief the spirits might cause.
“Souling” was a practice during this time, where people would go door-to-door singing songs to the dead in exchange for food. Sound familiar?
Roman Influence: Feralia and Pomona
By the time the Romans conquered Celtic lands in 43 A.D., their own festivals began to blend with Samhain. Two Roman holidays in particular—Feralia and Pomona—added new layers to the evolving holiday.
Feralia was a day in late October when the Romans commemorated the passing of the dead. It was a somber time, meant to honor and appease the deceased, much like the Celts’ Samhain.
Pomona, on the other hand, was a celebration of fertility and fruit, particularly apples. This may be where the tradition of bobbing for apples originated—a lighthearted activity for a holiday that was increasingly becoming a blend of the spooky and the celebratory.
The Church’s Influence: All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day
Fast forward a few centuries, and the influence of the Christian church began to seep into these older traditions. In the 9th century, Pope Gregory III moved All Saints’ Day to November 1st, possibly to replace or merge with Samhain. This was a day to honor saints and martyrs, and the night before became known as All Hallows’ Eve—which, of course, eventually morphed into Halloween.
All Souls’ Day on November 2nd was added as a day to remember all the faithful departed. By this time, many of the traditions surrounding death, the supernatural, and costumes were already in place, but now they were given a Christian twist. For example, people would dress up as angels, saints, and demons, rather than the pagan spirits of old.
Halloween Comes to America
The version of Halloween we celebrate today began to take shape in the 19th century, particularly after the massive influx of Irish immigrants to America during the Potato Famine. The Irish brought their Halloween traditions with them, and over time, these customs began to evolve.
The concept of trick-or-treating came from an Irish and Scottish practice known as “guising”. Children would go house to house in costumes, reciting poems or telling jokes in exchange for treats—usually food or coins. And yes, while pumpkins are the quintessential Halloween decoration today, turnips were the original vegetable used in Ireland for carving lanterns! (the first Jack-o’-lanterns were carved out of turnips, and they looked even spookier than pumpkins.)
Halloween began to gain popularity across the United States in the early 1900s, with the focus on community events and “safe” pranks. The practice of trick-or-treating emerged around the 1920s and 1930s but became widespread only after WWII in the late 1940s and 1950s, partly due to sugar rationing ending, which allowed for candy giving.
From Mischief Night to Modern Halloween
Halloween wasn’t always about candy and cute costumes. For a while, the holiday was more about mischief than merriment. In the early 20th century, “Mischief Night” pranks—like soaping windows or tipping over outhouses—were common. As a way to combat the escalating pranks, community leaders began organizing Halloween parties and trick-or-treating in the 1930s to offer a more family-friendly alternative.
By the 1950s, Halloween became firmly established as a children’s holiday in the U.S. Costume parties, trick-or-treating, and spooky decorations were the norm. The holiday had transformed from a night of fearing spirits to one of fun and frivolity, though the themes of death and the supernatural remained at its core.
A Few Little-Known Halloween Facts:
The origin of the Jack-o’-lantern comes from an Irish legend about a man named Stingy Jack (read more about Jack here). He tricked the Devil multiple times and was denied entrance to both heaven and hell, so he roams the earth with only a carved-out turnip to light his way.
Halloween is the second-largest commercial holiday in the United States. Americans spend billions each year on costumes, decorations, candy, and other festivities, with recent estimates showing annual Halloween spending often reaches $10-12 billion, especially when including consumer spending on themed events and attractions. This makes Halloween the second-largest in terms of commercial revenue, outpaced only by the extensive holiday spending associated with Christmas.
Trick-or-treating has roots in medieval Europe, where people practiced “mumming” or “souling”, going door-to-door to ask for soul cakes in exchange for prayers for the dead.
In many parts of the world, Halloween is still considered “All Saints’ Eve”, with customs focusing more on honoring the dead than celebrating spookiness with candy.
Halloween is a vibrant tapestry of cultural influences, each century adding new layers of meaning. I love that it’s a holiday that continues to evolve, yet its roots still pay homage to those ancient days of bonfires, spirits, and celebrations of life and death.
