Halloween originated over 2000 years ago from Celtic harvest festivals where people honored and communicated with the dead. The traditions were influenced by Roman festivals and Catholic holidays like All Saints' Day. By the 1800s, Irish immigrants brought Halloween traditions to America like carving jack-o-lanterns, dressing in costumes, and trick-or-treating. In the early 1900s, Halloween evolved into a community-centered holiday focused on activities like parades and parties. Today, Halloween is a popular commercial holiday where Americans spend billions on costumes, candy, and other celebrations.

1. Halloween

2. Origin
s
Began 2000 years ago
Celtic paganism [Ireland,
the United Kingdom, and
northern France], ancient
Roman religions, early
Catholic Christianity
and Northern
European folklore
 Filtered through an
American lens

3.  Oct. 31 – Nov. 1
 As the time between the old and
new years, the rules of normal
time and space were suspended
 (Thinning of the veil)
 Plants that kept the dead at bay
are also dead
 Ghosts of the dead returned
 Caused trouble and damaged
crops
 Spirits’ presence also made it
easier for the Druids (priests)
to make predictions about the
future

4. Samhain Celebration
 Built huge sacred bonfires;
people burned crops and animals
as sacrifices to the Celtic deities
 Wore costumes, typically
consisting of animal heads and
skins
 Eventually these take on the look
of masks and costumes to blend
with the spirits
 Attempted to tell each other's
fortunes
 End of celebration was to take a
part of the bonfire to light their
own hearth fires; protection
during the coming winter.

5. Romans
 43 CE: Roman permanent conquest arrived
 Over the next 400 years, Rome combined two of their own festivals
with Samhain
 Feralia: Late October; Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of
the dead
 Celebration of Pomona, traditionally Nov. 1. Pomona was the Roman
goddess of fruit and trees.
 Symbol is the apple (love and fertility). Also incorporated fruit and nuts into
the celebration.
Scotland: Carve an apple
 Bobbing for apples peel in one long strip, then
 Divination games with apples, toss the peel over one's
Nuts, mirrors, etc. shoulder. The peel is
 Candy apples (negative media) believed to land in the
shape of the first letter of
the future spouse's name.

6. Christianity
 In 834 CE, Pope Boniface IV designated
November 1st All Saints' Day, a time to honor
saints and martyrs
 Widely believed that the pope was
attempting to replace the Celtic festival of
the dead with a related, but church-
sanctioned holiday; the festival was moved
from May 13
 Samhain became All-hallows Eve [Halloween]
 1000 CE the church added November 2nd as All
Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead.
 Celebrated with bonfires, parades
 Dressed up in costumes as saints, angels,
and devils.
 Together these three holidays became
Hallowmas.

7. Trick-or-treating
 During the All Souls Day festival in England, poor
people would beg (go a-souling) for soul cakes,
square pieces of bread with currants; families would
give soul cakes in return for a promise to pray for the
family’s relatives
 The practice was eventually taken up by children who
would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be
given ale, food, and money (Today: candy)
Candy Corn:
Invented: 1898
Ingredients at that time: Candy
corn, sugar, water, and corn syrup
(slurry). Fondant for smooth texture
and marshmallow for a soft bite whipped
in.

8. Coming to America
 Initially, Hallowe’en was extremely limited in colonial New
England due to heavy Protestantism
 More common in Maryland/southern colonies
 First celebrations were public parties celebrating the harvest
 Stories of the dead were told as were ghost stories
 Fortunes read
 Dances and singing held
 Mischief-making and pranks
 By the middle of the nineteenth century,
annual autumn festivities were common,
but Halloween was not yet celebrated
everywhere in the country.

9. Coming to America with Irish
Immigration…
 In the 1800s Irish immigrants came into America,
(especially those fleeing the 1846 potato famine)
brought with them new ideas of Hallowe’en
 Began to dress up in costumes
 Go house to house asking for food or money
 Divination: women could find their future husband
by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors.

10. Irish contributions: Jack o’ Lanterns
The Irish used to carry turnips with candles in them to light
their way at night and to scare away ghosts.
When they arrived in America they found that pumpkins
were more plentiful and easier to carve than turnips.
A truly American tradition: Pumpkins originated in South
America
30 varieties. Most popular: the Connecticut Field Pumpkin
Tidbit: In the 19th century,
people believed that pumpkins
could cure freckles, wrinkles, and
snake bites. It is still used for
digestive issues with pets.

11. Evolving in America
 Late 1800s: Desire to make
Hallowe’en into more of a social
and neighborly gathering, less
about ghosts, pranks and
witchcraft
 Through the turn of the century,
people celebrated with parties for
both children and adults
 Focused on games, foods of the
season and festive costumes
 Adults were encouraged by the
media to take out the scary parts
of Hallowe’en
By the 1920s/30s: Halloween a secular community-centered
and less superstitiously-based holiday
Parades
Community-wide parties
However, vandalism (tricks) began to return to the holiday

12. Evolution in America 20th Century
 1950s became kid friendly and child-
centered
 Vandalism limited
 Holiday directed mostly at the young
 Parties moved from town civic
centers into classrooms and homes
 Between the 1920s and 50s, trick-or-
treating revived as an inexpensive way
for the town to celebrate the holiday
together
 Helped families prevent tricks and
vandalism by providing the
neighborhood children with small treats
(and keeping an eye on them).

13. Halloween Today
 Second only to Christmas as a retail
holiday
 $2.5 billion spent on costumes annually
 With candy, Americans spend $6.9 billion
on Hallowe’en per year

14. Happy Halloween and….