The Origin of Halloween

Halloween takes its name (All Hallow e'en, which means All Hollows Eve) from being the eve of the holy day of All Saints on November 1. It has its origin in pre-Christian times and there is no direct connection between Halloween and any Christian tradition. The Celts celebrated New Year's Day on November 1, and a festival was held the evening before to honor Samhain, their lord of death. This celebration ushered in the winter season which, with its cold, darkness, death, and decay, was also symbolic of the mystery of human death.

The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes during the night. They believed that sinful souls who had died during the year were imprisoned in the bodies of animals, and could be freed for heaven through gifts and sacrifice, which often included human sacrifice. Men, usually criminals, were shut up in wicker cages that were shaped like animals, and then burned. This practice was forbidden when the Celts were conquered by the Romans. On this night the people would extinguish their hearth fires and the Druids would build large sacred bonfires. From these fires the people would light a New Year's fire for their homes, hoping that these new fires would rejuvenate the sun and ward off evil spirits.

The Celts believed that on this night evil spirits, demons, and witches roamed freely to greet their season of winter darkness, and they would threaten, scare, and play tricks on people. They believed the only way to be safe was to bribe these evil spirits with treats or to pass as one of them by dressing and acting like them. Masked children would also go from door to door to pray for departed loved ones in exchange for a treat.

Halloween customs survive to this day with hardly any change, however, they were not widely observed in this country until the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840's caused a massive migration of the Irish, who are a Celtic people. The costumes have changed, however, and now tend to be cute rather than scary. The motives have changed also. Instead of acting out fears connected with agents of evil, children now take the opportunity to fill bags of treats with a party atmosphere. Like Christmas, Halloween has become commercialized.

The pumpkin jack-o-latern originated in the practice of Irish Children to carve faces in rutabagas, turnips, and potatoes. They would then place a candle inside to add a demension of festivity to the Halloween gatherings. It is also a possibility that the jack-o-lantern is a leftover symbol, combining the night's traditional atmosphere of evil with the Halloween New Years fire lit by the pagan Druids.


(From "Catholic Customs and Traditions")