Origin of Halloween: How this Celtic pagan harvest festival turned into major holiday in US
Halloween is commonly observed in the Anglosphere (the English-speaking world), as a religious festival. It is associated with the festival All Hallows Day which is celebrated in honour of departed saints and martyrs of the Catholic Church. However, the origins of this beloved spooky festival actually go back a thousand years and are rooted in pagan tradition!
Halloween Originated As A Pagan Celtic Festival
The origins of this popular festival can be traced back to an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain, which was celebrated in parts of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France. It marked the end of the harvest season and heralded the beginning of a new year. The Celts believed that during this time the veil between the world of mortals and spirits was temporarily dissolved, leading to the free reign of supernatural entities on Earth. People would often light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off evil spirits.
In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV created the All Saint’s Day. 100 years later, Pope Gregory III made the holiday a Christian substitute for the pagan holidays of Samhain. By the 1800s, it gained widespread popularity in America, with the arrival of the Irish immigrants who came to the US in droves to escape the devastating ‘Potato Famine’.
The custom of trick and treating which involves kids dressing up in spooky costumes and knocking on doors for treats was popularised in America in the early 20th century when the Irish diaspora introduced the Old World tradition of ‘guising’ which consisted of an individual dressing up in a costume and telling a joke in exchange of treats such as candied fruits. By the 1950’s it had become a significant tradition of Halloween. The Irish also brought along the
