Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated on November 1st. It was a day to honor the dead and celebrate the end of the harvest season. When the Romans conquered Celtic lands, they combined their own autumn festival with Samhain, shifting it to November 1st. In the 19th century, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Halloween traditions to North America. Today, Halloween is celebrated commercially with costumes, trick-or-treating, and carving jack-o'-lanterns, though some traditions stem from ancient Celtic beliefs about contacting the dead.

2. HALLOWEEN
Kristýna Matušková

3. All Hallows' Eve
st
31 October
● Day before All Hallows' Day (All Saint's Day)
● ''hallowed'' = holy, sanctified
●

4. History
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7th century – Pantheon in Rome consecrated
–
●
●
st
13th May – All Saint's Day
th
1 November (8 century) – for western church
First Sunday after Passover – the Orthodox
church

5. Hallowe'en and Samhain
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Samhain (/ˈsaʊ.wɛn/, /ˈsaʊ.wɪn/) – Celtic festival
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Gaelic word – 'end of the summer'
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Smoothing the conversion process
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E. Britannica – 'in an effort to supplant the
Pagan holiday with a Christian observance'
Oxford D. - 'absorbed and adopted the Celtic
new year festival, the eve and day of Samhain'
Theory – independent of Samhain

6. Halloween in America
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●
●
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More common in southern colonies (N =
protestants)
'play parties', public events to celebrate the
harvest, sharing stories of the dead, telling
fortunes, dancing, singing
th
Middle of 19 century – annual festivities, but
not Halloween
nd
th
2 half of 19 century – immigrants (Ireland,
Scotland, England)

7. Traditions
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Bonfires
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Masks and costumes
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Trick-or-treating

8. Trick or Treat
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'A Beggers Night'
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1920s – young throwing parties
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WWII – toned down (sugar rationing & mood)
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After WWII – bulding houses, suburbs – popular
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1950s & 60s – baby boom – important family
activity
Since 1990s – mostly indoors (busy parents &
children's safety)
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Malls events

11. Jack-o'-lantern
(Jack O'Lantern)
●
=carved pumpkin
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Term & practice of carving out of NA
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●
●
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Jack – a lazy farmer who uses a cross to trap/
trick the Devil
Apple tree – crosses – couldn't get down
Both agree on not taking Jack's soul –
heaven/hell – pumpkin
The Devil as a coin

13. Costumes
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Little documentation on costuming before 20th
century
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1930s - in stores
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To immitate supernatural and scary beings
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Vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches, devils, …
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Pop culture figures – presidents, film, tv and
cartoon characters

14. Superstitions
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Mystery, magic, superstition
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Feeling close to deceased
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dinner table, leaving treats, lighting up candles,
…
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Black cats – witch
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Ladders
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Breaking mirrors
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Stepping on cracs in the road

15. Superstitions
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Identifying future husbands
–
A ring burried in mashed potatoes – true love to
finder
–
Burning hazelnuts
–
Concoction of walnuts, hazelnuts and nutmeg –
dream
–
Dark room, mirrors, candle

16. Sources
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www.halloweenhistory.org
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www.history.com
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Oxford Dictionaries
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Google.com
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The Worst Halloween costumes ever

17. Thank you for attention