A brief history of Halloween. We posted this last year but it may become a yearly tradition to share over and over again. For example, some people may not understand what Halloween is really all about and may find it interesting. Likewise, others may just enjoy the updated images and goofiness we will add to it from year to year.
Halloween is just about here! It’s one of our favorite days of the year! Why do we dress up? What’s the deal with trick or treating? Why do we carve pumpkins? Have you ever wondered how Halloween started and what traditions continued through the years? What has changed or has been phased out? Read further to find out more.
History
So, Halloween technically began as the festival of Samhain. Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the “darker half” or winter as we know it. The festival takes places October 31 – November 1. Celts believed that on the night before the new year (November 1), the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred or thin. Scary stuff!
Most importantly, they would have big parties or feasts and dress in costumes because they believed it would scare away the ghosts and spirits. Do you see the correlation? Consequently, we then get to America, where we traditionalize everything and make carving pumpkins and trick or treating super popular. Meanwhile, let’s talk about trick or treating.
So, way back when, young women believed that on Halloween they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors. Subsequently, it then trickled down to young children dressing up and getting candy from neighbors.
Did you know?
One quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween. So, do you carve pumpkins? Do you go the traditional scary route or do something fun and different? Are you the type of person that will hand out candy to little kids or keep the light off? Speaking of modifying traditions, there are parents that have a basket of candy for kids, and a basket of beer for the parents that go around with them. In conclusion, that is a modern twist on a tradition that we can get down with!
Costumes?
What’s the coolest costumes you have? Send us photos and we’ll share them on social media! We hope you enjoy our little Brief History of Halloween!
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