The history of Halloween Summed Up in 5 FACTS
I love Halloween.
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me, and by now you have probably seen that! But the funny thing is, I have never really dug deep into the history on my favorite time of the year. I do believe there is a reason we are drawn to specific people, periods, and vibes. So, I wanted to dig around a little find answers to my top 5 questions surrounding Halloween history. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed researching.
All of this research did come from The History Channel’s website. I wanted to make sure I found the most accurate facts that I could!
what is the significance of the specific date 10/31?
The ancient history surrounding Halloween goes back 2,000 years ago to central Europe (Ireland, UK, France). The “Celts” would celebrate their New Year on November 1st because that day marked the end of summer/harvest and the beginning of the cold/dark winter.
Because the winter was often associated with human death, the Celts believed that on the night before New Year (October 31st), the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred, and ghosts returned to earth! This night of significance was called Samhain (Sow-In).
2. How did people originally celebrate during Halloween?
2,000 years ago the Celts would build huge bonfires, and gather and burn crops as sacrifices to the Gods. During the celebration, they wore costumes of animal heads and skins and attempted tell each others fortunes.
After the bonfire celebration was over, everyone would take some fire from the bonfire back to their houses and re-light their own fireplaces for protection during the coming winter.
Steph’s Tip: If you are looking for an authentic and old-world way to celebrate Halloween this year, build a backyard bon-fire and hang out with close family.
3. Where did the tradition of Jack-O-Lanterns originate?
The tradition originated from an Irish story and myth about a man named “Stingy Jack”. He tricked the devil so many times, he was condemned to walk to earth forever with only a coal to light his way, which he put into a potato made lantern. Thus explaining two relevant traditions – pumpkins and tricks!
So, in Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and putting them in windows or near doors to frighten away “Stingy Jack” and other wondering Spirits. This soon became known as “Jack of the Lantern.”
Immigrants from Ireland brought the jack-o’-lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States in the mid 1800’s and began using pumpkins instead of turnips.
4. Why did it become a thing for people to dress up and trick or treat on Halloween?
Much throughout the 1800’s and early 1900’s, Halloween was a time of pranking or “tricking”. The youth would do silly pranks such as placing farmers’ wagons and livestock on barn roofs, uprooting vegetables in backyard gardens and tipping over outhouses.
But eventually the tricks became a little more sinister and included setting fires, breaking glass in the street, throwing flour on people, and even waxing street cars. The pranks were meant as harmless but inadvertently began hurting people and Halloween was almost banned in the states!
So during the 1930’s, instead of outlawing the holiday, communities and families began promoting parties, carnivals and costume parades on Halloween to keep kids out of trouble. This eventually morphed into the way that we celebrate Halloween now with fun costumes, trick-or-treating, and parties.
5. Is there any proof that Halloween night is truly paranormally charged?
Not that I could find in actual research, only stories. So, I will interject my own thoughts here. I think that the “spirit world” is charged at any given time. I think Halloween is charged more because of the living and our beliefs of this particular night.
Because Halloween tradition dates back centuries, it’s kind of in our blood to feel spooked on Halloween night. I think we are all looking into the darkness a little harder and are a little more open to believing in seeing spirits on Halloween night. And because of that….it’s absolutely a paranormally charged night…because we make it one.
Fun Fact:
Maryland was actually one of the first colonies to really celebrate Halloween in the states. Halloween was extremely limited in colonial New England because of the strict religious beliefs.
Maybe that is why I personally feel such a strong connection to the holiday, it’s in my Maryland blood! Or maybe its because I am 70% Irish and saw “Stingy Jack” in a past life (muhaha).
Whatever the reason, I am pumped that its Halloween week and can’t wait to celebrate using some of these older traditions that I uncovered. Make sure to follow me on instagram to see what we are up to on Halloween night!