The origin of Halloween dates back to an ancient pagan festival celebrated by the Celts 2,000 years ago called Samhain. The festival, which took place in the United Kingdom, Ireland and northwest France, was celebrated on November 1 to commemorate the beginning of winter and the end of the harvest. The Celts believed that Samhain was a time when the souls of the dead returned to the world of the living to visit their homes.
“What we would call November, or the first part of it, seems to have been the time designated for the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter among the peoples who spoke or speak Celtic languages, mainly represented today by the Irish.”
While it is unclear exactly how the ancient Celts celebrated Samhain, because there were not many written records, it is said that bonfires were lit on hilltops during the festival to ward off evil spirits,
The tradition of wearing costumes began here, when villagers wore masks to avoid being recognized by ghosts believed to be present.
The trick-or-treating tradition began in areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland. People went from house to house doing “souling”—asking for small breads called “soul cakes”—in exchange for a prayer.
Adults also went door to door asking for food and drink in exchange for a song or dance.
An Irish legend says that Jack-o'-lanterns (pumpkins) are named after a man named Jack who could not go to heaven or hell and was forced to walk the earth forever with only a coal from hell to keep him. turn on your flashlight.
From Samhain to Halloween in the United States
Halloween decorations are seen in a garden at dusk in Washington DC on October 20, 2018.
If there is a country that celebrates Halloween in a big way, it is the United States. Also called “Halloween,” the holiday arrived in the United States with Irish immigrants who settled in the mid-19th century. By the 20th century, Halloween had become one of the main festivities, especially popular among the little ones.
“It was when the Irish immigrants arrived that the celebrations really took root in America and they had the practice of going door to door, asking for fruits and nuts and things like that.”
Now it is customary to wear various costumes: from witches and vampires to superheroes and terrifying clowns. The only limit to how you dress up for Halloween is your imagination. Once dressed up, you go out to the streets of your neighborhood to ask for the famous “trick or treat” and thus accumulate as much candy as possible in your pumpkin. Something very striking is the spooky decoration of the houses and buildings: carved pumpkins, fake cobwebs, tombs, witches or skeletons, paper bats, orange neon lights and inflatable dolls are part of the scenery.
Families also often share scary stories around a campfire or snuggle up to watch horror movies.
