Why Do We Celebrate Halloween?

With Halloween next week, I am sure you are putting last-minute touches on your decorations, have already found that perfect Halloween costume, and have plans for Halloween evening. Personally, I’m a bit behind – still need to pick out a pumpkin to carve, my partner and I have yet to find a costume, and as far as plans go? We’re still debating between options. We’ve been doing a lot of spooky Halloween reading and watching a lot of horror movies, though.

Have you ever wondered where all the traditions come from? I hadn’t thought much about it until I saw this question come up in a few seasonal trend reports. Just why do we celebrate Halloween? Let’s uncover the history, traditions, and bizarre and fascinating ways Halloween has evolved.

The Origins of Halloween - Samhain

Halloween started as a Celtic pagan religious ceremony called Samhain (pronounced “SAH-win”). The festival was to mark the end of harvest, with all its glorious bounty, and welcome the onset of winter. It was actually celebrated from October 31st to November 1st. It was a time of merriment, where hearth fires were left to burn out while people gathered their crops, and celebrants would light a big community fire. As you can imagine, alcohol flowed freely, and attendees were encouraged to make merry during the celebration.

During this time, the veil between the living and the dead was believed to be the thinnest, allowing spirits to roam among the living. To scare away the undead, townspeople would light bonfires and wear costumes (cause I guess one thing scarier than a ghost is a person dressed like a ghost). People would also take pieces of the bonfire to return home to relight their hearth fires. 

Where Pumpkin Carving Originated From

Pumpkins are believed to have originated in the 19th century, brought on from an old Irish legend, appearing in print, about a man named “Stingy Jack.” In this legend, Jack and the Devil are having drinks, but true to Jack’s nickname, he doesn’t want to pay. He convinces the Devil to turn it into a coin so that he can pay that way, but alas, the Devil is tricked because Jack puts the coin in his pocket with a cross, preventing the Devil from escaping the confines of his trousers.

Jack tells the Devil he’ll let him go – if the Devil doesn’t bother him for a year. A year later, Jack tricks the Devil again, he convinces him to climb a tree for a piece of fruit but then carves a cross into the bark so the Devil cannot come down (so clever that Jack). Jack then demands the Devil not bother him for 10 years.

When Jack dies, God refuses to let him into heaven because, at this point, he is considered unsavory (though I’m not sure why it’s unsavory to trick the Devil, but eh). Instead, Jack is sent to the Devil. However, since the Devil cannot claim his soul, he instead banishes Jack to roam the world for all eternity. Jack is only given a piece of coal to light his way and Jack then puts the coal in a carved-out turnip.

So that’s why we use Jack Lanterns (though it was initially called Jack of the Lantern like Will-o-the-wisp.) Turnips were originally used as homage to this ghostly figure, which, in my opinion, are much creepier, but now we use pumpkins, which are much tastier when made into pies.

The Roman Contribution of Faralia and Pomona  

By A.D. 43, the Romans had overtaken most of Celtic territory, which meant mixing festivals. Namely, the two festivals of Faralia and Pomona were combined with the celebration of Samhain.

Faralia, occurring in late October, was a celebration to honor the dead. Romans would tend to their loved one’s grave and offer sacrifices to both honor and appease the spirits of the dead, which is reminiscent of the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos.

Alongside Faralia, the Romans also celebrated the festival of Pomona, celebrating the goddess of fruit and trees, Pomona. Her symbol was an apple, which historians believe is the origin of bobbing for apples. Blending these celebrations and including Samhain became a new celebration to bring in the harvest and mark the beginning of winter.

Christian Influence Of All Saints and All Souls Day

The intermingling of cultures and traditions continued, and as Christianity spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, the church, created by Pope Gregory III and solidified by Pope Gregory IV, began “All Saints Day” on November 1st to honor saints and martyrs. The holy day became known as All Hallow’s Day, and the night before became known as All Hallows’ Eve, where Halloween comes from.

The following day, November 2nd, was All Souls Day when Catholics celebrate those who passed on. This celebration was marked by lighting bonfires and candles on graves and honoring the dead. As you can imagine, many other elements of the former pagan traditions, such as wearing costumes, continued.

The American Melting Pot

The “Hallow’s Eve” celebration finally became the Halloween we know and loved when the Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in America during the 19th century. Remember the turnips I mentioned earlier? Since America had an abundance of pumpkins and they were easier to carve, this is also where the switch from turnips to pumpkins happened. These immigrants also brought their tradition of dressing up and going door-to-door, a practice called “guising,” which became known as trick-or-treating.

Other aspects of the holiday blended together because America is, after all, a fantastic melting pot of different cultures and traditions. German immigrants and Native Americans had community-centered influences, which gave rise to Halloween parties, rising in popularity in the mid-20th century. The parties, like they are today, included fun games, festive costumes, seasonal foods, and although there was some distancing from the idea of the dead and spirits, it still had a touch spooky atmosphere.

Naturally, this gave way to commercialism in the 1950s. Halloween became the ionic festivity we know and love through themed television and movies. The commercialization through candy, mass-produced costumes, and the many, many Halloween events and themed-everything made Halloween a commercial success, cementing it into our culture each October.

New Traditions for Halloween

There you have it, the evolution of Halloween and the many cultural celebrations and traditions that make this holiday so wonderful. Although some might refuse to celebrate the holiday, I think it’s the perfect way to begin the closing of the year. Halloween doesn’t have to be spooky, but it is still a great tradition to honor those who have passed on and welcome the stillness and reflection of winter and the coming year.

What traditions do you have when it comes to Halloween? Watching scary movies? Eating plenty of candy? Maybe something else entirely? Let me know! I am always looking to add fun ways to celebrate Halloween.  

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