2. • Chances are no matter where you live, you
celebrate or know someone who celebrates a day
that remembers or honours the dead in some
fashion.
• Whether it’s ‘’Dia de Muertos’’ in Mexico, the
‘’Ghost Festival’’ in China or ‘’All Souls’ Day’’
amongst Christians, almost every religion and
civilization honours the dead in some form.
3. • But, we are going to be talking specifically about
Halloween and it’s history.
• In modern times Halloween has largely come to mean
a day of children asking for candy from the
neighbours, but the history of the holiday goes much
further than this.
4. • Most believe that the earliest roots of Halloween can be found
in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.
• Samhain, the Gaelic word for ‘’November’’, originally meaning
‘’Summer’s End’’, was a festival marking the end of the
harvest season and the beginning of winter.
• Traditionally observed from sunset in October 31 to sunset on
November 1, the holiday was observed throughout Ireland and
Scotland.
• Mythology states that celebrations of Smahain would feature
plenty of alcohol, feasting and games and would last up to a
week.
5. • It was believed that during Samhain the doorways to the
underworld would open and spirits of the dead and other
supernatural creatures would be freed into our world.
• The spirits were both respected and feared, as the Celts
believed that they are responsible for the fate of their crops,
but the spirits made it also easier to predict the future.
• To appease the spirits, they would make large bonfires and
throw crops or animals as sacrifices into the fire.
• They would also leave food and drink outside of their homes
as offerings, as well as set extra places at their tables for the
spirits.
6. • Eventually, the Roman Empire conquered much of the Celtic
territory and some of their festivals and gods merged with
that of Samhain and it’s ideas.
• Specifically, the most recognisable ones are Parentalia, a
festival held in honor of family ancestors, and the celebration
of Pamona, who is mostly associated with apples.
• In 609 AD Pope Boniface the Forth rededicated the Roman
temple of Pantheon to Saint Mary and all the martyrs on the
13th of May, which became known as ‘’All Hallows Day’’,
‘’hallow’’ meaning ‘’saint’’.
• This coincided with the date of ‘’Lemuria’’, an ancient roman
ritual of the dead. Over 200 years later Pope Gregory the
Forth would move the date from May to November first, the
same date to Samhain, for debatable reasons.
7. • As many major feasts in Christianity had a vigil the night
before, October 31st became known as ‘’All Hallows’ Eve’’ and
November 2nd became ‘’All Souls’ Day’’, to commemorate all
the dead.
• The three days were known as ‘’All Hallow Tide’’. It is likely
the Catholic church adopted the holiday as a way to replace
the pagan festival of Samhain, although in Ireland they
celebrated ‘’All Saints’ Day’’ on April 20th to avoid that same
connection.
• Traditions involved with ‘’All Hallow Tide’’ included ringing
church bells for souls in Purgatory and groups of poor people,
especially children, going door to door and collecting special
cakes.
• These cakes, known as ‘’soul cakes’’, were baked for the souls
of the dead and collectors, known as ‘’soulers’’ would collect
them in exchange for praying for the dead.
8. • The soul cakes would then be offered to the souls to eat, or
the soulers would eat them themselves as representatives of
the dead.
• This is likely the main inspiration for the modern tradition
of ‘’trick or treat’’.
• Some would dress up as saints themselves, or in costumes
to avoid vengeful spirits identifying them.
9. • During the Reformation of the Church of England, the
protestants attacked the customs of ‘’All Hallow Tide’’, as it was
incompatible with their theology.
• Much of the beliefs surrounding the spirits of the dead within
Catholicism at the time were related to Purgatory, the belief that
the souls of the dead were held in a stage of limbo before
entering Heaven.
• As the Protestants had discarded the notion of Purgatory, they
came to believe that all the spirits of the dead returning to earth
were evil.
10. • The rise of ‘’Guy Fawkes’ Night’’ to the early 17th century
Britain , led many of the traditions of ‘’All Hallow Tide’’
being transferred to that holiday instead.
• During this time ‘’All Hallows’ Eve’’ became known as
‘’Halloween’’, shortened from ‘’Hallowed Evening’’.
11. • Meanwhile, in Ireland and Scotland, the tradition of
guising began to take hold.
• Children dressed as spirits or other supernatural beings
went from door to door, often carrying a lantern made
out of a scooped out turnip, and recited songs for coins or
food.
• If the home gave food, it could expect good fortune in the
future, and if not, it could expect misfortune.
• This of course led some youths to bring the misfortune
themselves and began playing pranks on those who were
not plentiful enough in their offerings.
12. • The scooped out turnips and other vegetables were often
outside homes, with candles placed inside them, to either
represent spirits or to ward them away.
• This eventually became the common tradition of setting
out jack-o'-lanterns.
13. • For a while, in North America, the tradition of Halloween
did not catch on, largely due to the strong Protestant
influence.
• However, in the 1800s large amounts of Irish and Scottish
immigrants came to America, and brought with them
their traditions of guising, parties and decorating for the
spirits.
• By the early 1900s, Halloween is being celebrated across
the United States.
14. • Over time, the industrialization and commercialization of
America went to work, and Halloween became a highly profitable
holiday, filled with mass produced costumes, decorations,
activities and candy.
• Nowadays, many of the associations with ‘’All Hallow Tide’’ and
the Christian influences have been forgotten. Instead, the holiday
has become more focused on communities and fascination with
the dead and the supernatural.
• Although it is unlikely Halloween will continue in it’s present form
over the next 2,000 years, human beings will always have some
fascination with the dead.
