As soon as the calendar turns from September to October, it’s officially Halloween season. Skeleton decorations on lawns, carved pumpkins on porches, zombie movies in the theaters, and all the Halloween-themed treats you can imagine. (We’ll have a pumpkin spice latte with a mummy-shaped cake pop, please!)
Learn all about the origins of Halloween in the United States, including its roots in paganism, Catholicism, and American immigration, and why Halloween is celebrated on October 31. We’ll also trace back mummies, vampires, and other Halloween monsters and symbols that appear on storefronts and up and down your block every October.
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What are the origins of Halloween?
The “change” from autumn to Halloween all seems like a normal part of the fall season, but why does this time of year transition from serene autumn mornings to creepy Halloween nights? Who decided that kids should go door-to-door threatening pranks unless they get candy, and where did we get the idea to carve all those pumpkins, anyway?
Although Halloween is a time-honored American holiday, it didn’t start out that way—and it used to look very different! Take a history trip through the origins of Halloween, including its pagan roots, Christian influences, and similarities to other celebrations around the autumn equinox.
The pagan origins of Halloween
The pagan origins of Halloween go back 2,000 years to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which honored the end of summer. Samhain refers to the Old Irish word for “summer’s end” and was considered to be the dividing line between the lighter half of the year (spring and summer) and the darker half (fall and winter).
According to writer and librarian Ruth Edna Kelley in The Book of Hallowe’en (1919), the transition between seasons evoked the spirit of death for pagan Celts. “The Celts thought that at this time the sun fell a victim for six months to the powers of winter darkness,” explains Kelley. “From the idea that the sun suffered from his enemies on this day grew the association of Samhain with death.”
Ancient Celts believed that spirits could pass into the mortal world during this key time of the year, specifically on November 1st. In fact, the word An t-Samhain is also the Scottish Gaelic word for “November.” They celebrated this moment of the year by going door-to-door to ask for feast fare (the origin for trick-or-treating!), welcoming the spirits of their ancestors, and wearing costumes to scare away spirits who meant them harm. Witches, fairies, demons, and hobgoblins became popular disguises for the Samhain festival and laid the foundation for the origins of Halloween as we know them today
The Catholic origins of Halloween
Like many other pagan festivals throughout Europe, Samhain became heavily influenced by the Roman Empire in the first century A.D. After the Romans conquered the Celts, the festival Ferelia (a Roman celebration honoring the dead) and other harvest festivals honoring the Roman agriculture goddess Pomona were infused with the local Samhain traditions.
Kelley tells us, “From Pomona’s festival nuts and apples, from the Druidic Samhain the supernatural element, combined to give later generations the charms and omens from nuts and apples which are made trial of at Hallowe’en.”
The Catholic origins of Halloween solidified with the establishment of All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Day in medieval England) by Pope Boniface IV in the early seventh century A.D. All Saints’ Day honored revered saints and martyrs to the Christian faith but has expanded to honor deceased family members. The church eventually moved the date from May 13th to November 1st, coinciding with or replacing the pagan celebration of Samhain.
Centuries later, the night before All Saints’ Day was known as All Hallows’ Eve, or All Hallowen in Scottish. Christian observances of this October 31st holiday included religious tithing and somber prayer, while pagan communities paid homage to the Celtic traditions of dressing in costumes and lighting bonfires. In the tenth century, a Christian day of prayer and masses for the dead was established as All Souls’ Day on November 2nd, immediately following All Saints’ Day on November 1st.
“It is very appropriate that the Celtic festival when the spirits of the dead and the supernatural powers held a carnival of triumph over the god of light, should be followed by All Saints’ and All Souls’,” says Kelley in The Book of Hallowe’en. “They have in common the celebrating of death: the one, of the sun; the other, of mortals: of harvest: the one, of crops; the other, of sacred memories.”
The American celebration of Halloween
This dual celebration of All Hallows’ Eve continued into the 19th century, when Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their Halloween traditions to America. These traditions immediately took hold in the United States and became more popular than in their countries of origin. By now, you likely recognize which of the original traditions still exist in America: dressing up in costumes, holding feasts and parties, and even the trick-or-treating tradition.
Another adopted European Halloween custom was “Devil’s Night,” an evening of playful mischief and pranks. Devil’s Night became popular in the United States, as Kelley describes: “It is a night of ghostly and merry revelry. Mischievous spirits choose it for carrying off gates and other objects, and hiding them or putting them out of reach … Bags filled with flour sprinkle the passers-by. Door-bells are rung and mysterious raps sounded on doors, things thrown into halls, and knobs stolen.”
She goes on to describe early 20th-century Halloween parties and their influences from ancient Samhain. “Hallowe’en parties are the real survival of the ancient merrymakings … Often [guests] come masked, as ghosts or witches. The decorations make plain the two elements of the festival. For the centerpiece of the table there may be a hollowed pumpkin, filled with apples and nuts … so it is clear that this is a harvest-party, like Pomona’s feast. In the coach rides a witch, representing the other element, of magic and prophecy.”
The origins of popular Halloween symbols
It may seem like popular Halloween symbols have always been part of the holiday’s history, but as you’ve just read, Halloween has a complex history! See how literature, folklore, and movies have influenced Halloween traditions and symbols into its most recent celebrations.
Jack-o’-lanterns
These iconic carved pumpkins come from the Irish tradition of carving turnips for Stingy Jack, a mythical trickster doomed to travel the Earth with only a lighted turnip. When Irish immigrants arrived in America, they found pumpkins to be more plentiful than turnips during the harvest season.
Ghosts
The theme of Halloween ghosts originated during the ancient Celtic celebrations of accessing the spirit world and speaking with ancestors who have passed into the afterlife. Certain evil spirits could also cross through the division at this time, making some ghosts friendly and others more foreboding.
Witches
Stemming from the European and colonial American beliefs in witchcraft, as well as pagan spellwork and connection to the Earth, witches are nearly synonymous with the origins of Halloween. Dressing as witches was one of the first ways Celts would scare away evil spirits at Samhain.
Black cats
From autumn superstitions surrounding black cats as witches’ companions, harbingers of death, and bringers of bad luck, black cats connect deeply with Halloween’s roots. As autumn nights were especially dark, the glowing eyes of a black cat seemed more menacing during this time of year.
Frankenstein’s monster
Based on the science fiction novel Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Kelley, the popular creature brought back to life by Dr. Frankenstein became a popular Halloween figure after the 1931 film version depicting the monster for the first time. The ties to death and life around these interconnected Halloween holidays are unmistakable.
Grim Reaper
This creepy Halloween character started as a symbol of death in the 14th century in Europe, especially during the Black Death. The Grim Reaper’s scythe evokes the spirit of Halloween’s harvest history, while its job of collecting souls connects to the ancient awareness of the afterlife on Halloween.
Why is Halloween celebrated on October 31st?
So if Samhain took place on November 1st, why is Halloween on October 31st? It has to do with how the Celtic culture counted a day, which ended (or started) at sunset. That meant Samhain officially began on the evening before November, which was October 31st.
Additionally, the Christian All Saints’ Day fell on November 1 to discourage pagan celebrations on the actual day, making All Hallow’s Eve on October 31. Since centuries of Samhain traditions began on this evening, pagan customs like going door-to-door for food, dressing up in costumes, and lighting bonfires became part of the All Hallow’s Eve traditions (or Halloween traditions).
From Halloween to holidays around the world
The origins of Halloween reveal humanity’s desire to celebrate the changing of seasons, the lives of those gone before, and of course, good food and company! While Halloween may look different from century to century, this age-old festival is a true connection to our past. Find out how these autumn traditions extend throughout the world, from Dia de los Muertos in Mexico to Japanese festivals honoring ancestral roots and a successful harvest.
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