Halloween has a distinct history. It takes place worldwide on October 31. In the United States and Canada dressing in costume by both children and adults is traditional and ‘trick-or-treating’ takes place. Pumpkins are carved into jack-o-lanterns and Halloween parties for both adults and children feature haunted house displays, ghost stories and games like bobbing for apples. Images of ghosts jump out from decorated homes, as do skeletons, black cats, witches and other goblins. Halloween parades are rampant.

Halloween has its origins in the Pagan festival of ‘Samhain’ (pronounced: SOW ehn). This simply translates into ‘summer’s end.’ Originally a festival that marked the ending of the harvest and the beginning of the winter season, the in 800s, the Church established a mirror holiday, ‘All Saints’ Day’ on November 1. ‘All Hallows’ was another name given to ‘All Saints Day.’ The definition of hallow is saint, or holy one. ‘All Hallows Eve’ the evening before ‘All Saints’ Day’ became known as ‘Hallow e’en’. Now it’s just called Halloween as slang for the original name.

New modern traditions have evolved. The commercial venture of visiting a haunted house is one of these, and is used as fund-raisers now. Popular costumes now inspire the dressing up of yesteryear, and more humorous costumes exist. Parents now accompany children during trick or treating in America and pranks are practically non-existent. This evolved because of scares over the years about poisoned treats. Costume prizes now exist and others dress to impress rather than scare. Homes, bars and nightclubs are where these activities take place primarily.

Although some countries don’t have Halloween they have similar holidays. Mexico celebrates ‘The Day of the Dead’ and blends ‘All Souls Day’ with Catholic and Native American traditions. Human skeletons decorate Mexican homes, and set out food for spirits that wander. Guy Fawkes Day in England has taken the place of Halloween and is a patriotic holiday on November 5. Guy Fawkes was a conspirator with a group of Catholic conspirators that attempted to blow up parliament in the early 1600s. The conspirators were captured, tortured and killed instead.

Second only to Christmas in popularity in America, millions celebrate without knowing the origins. Halloween is a time for friends, family, and parties. Some still view it superstitiously, but no matter how it’s viewed, it’s an intriguing holiday.

Other less well known superstitions about Halloween are the beliefs that the Welsh held that you could sneeze your soul out which led to the ‘God Bless You’ we all now use after sneezing. If someone sneezed on Halloween, it was especially dangerous as the devil could then capture your traveling soul.

Owls were thought by some cultures to swoop down and snatch the souls of the dying, and any owl heard hooting immediately had individuals turning their pockets inside out for good luck. Africans would eat in silence during Halloween night to keep the spirits happy, and encourage them to come to the table. In Britain, the devil was viewed as a nut gatherer and nuts were worn on Halloween night as magic charms.

A lot of folklore exists about babies born on Halloween and their ability to see and speak with ghosts. This is called the ‘Gift of Second Sight’ and many movies are made about this folk tale. Halloween babies are also supposedly protected from evil spirits.

Halloween also has romantic superstitions. It’s been said that catching a snail and locking it in a dish on Halloween night will reveal your ‘sweetheart’s’ name in the morning. Another states that a girl that puts rosemary and a silver coin under her pillow will see her future husband in a dream.

The carrying of water to a spring on Halloween night by a young girl will supposedly reveal a future husband’s reflection in the water. Carrying a broken egg in a glass to a spring of water during the day and mixing some of the water into the glass will reveal the future husband’s image as well as future children. Scattering the seed of hemp into a field while chanting, “Hemp I Sow Thee, Come After Me, and Show Me’ and then turning around would reveal the image of her future husband.

During the 1920s and 1930s, pranks were again prolific and disrupted the celebrations. This turned around again by the 1950s due to the community spirit of the ‘baby boomers.’ Door-to-door became popular again as a sense of community grew. Currently, billions are spend annually on Halloween, and it is without a doubt one of the largest commercial holidays.

Costume dressing is most associated in America with Halloween, although this has European and Celtic roots. These groups thought they could avoid being recognized by the ghosts on the night of ‘Samhain’ by wearing masks. Bowls of food were placed outside the home, to satisfy the ghosts, and prevent entry. Beggars were also a source of early trick or treating as they visited the homes of the rich, asking for money or food and threatening ‘ghostly actions’ if thwarted.

Jack-O-Lantern carving is Celtic in origin also, but they used turnips. The legend started with a man named Jack who was a drunk and joker. It was rumored that Jack tricked the devil himself into climbing a tree. An image of a cross carved into the tree by Jack prevented him from climbing back down and the devil was trapped. The devil made a deal to never tempt Jack again if he was let down and legend states that Jack was denied entrance into heaven because of his ‘devilish ways.’ Poor Jack was also supposedly denied entrance into hell because of his tricking of the devil. The devil also supposedly gave Jack a hallowed out turnip with a candle inside to light his way through the cold dark night and possibly eternity. The Irish that came to America simply used the more plentiful pumpkins for this tradition.

Black cats and witches are now also common denominators of Halloween. Folklore tells of witches on broomsticks twirling through the night air on Halloween. Superstitions also abound and in order to avoid mischief by witches it was believed that one needed to put their clothing on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night.

Early settlers to America also believed in witches, and these beliefs were combined with the beliefs of Native Americans, who followed the beliefs of African slaves in evil spirits and black magic. The black cat is associated with witches because it was believed that witches could shift shape into black cats. This led to another superstition about bad luck when black cats cross your path.

Christian influences spread into Celtic lands by the year 800, and Pope Boniface IV declared November 1 as All Saint’s Day. This day was a time to honor all saints and martyrs. This was considered an attempt to replace the pagan holiday with a church sanctioned holiday.

Also referred to as ‘All-hallows’ or ‘All-hallowmas’, the night before was called ‘All-hallows Eve’ or ‘Halloween.’ Two-hundred years later, the Church again stepped in and made November 2, ‘All Souls Day’ in honor of the dead. Same as with ‘Samhain’, bonfires, parades and festivities took place, and costumes of angels, saints, and devils became popular. These three celebrations became known as ‘Hallowmas.’

European immigrants coming to America brought costumes with them, but rigid Protestant beliefs in New England hampered celebrations. An American version of Halloween started to develop as European ethnic groups and American Indian groups meshed the celebration with their own beliefs. Again, the harvest was a focal point, and gatherings always included stories of the deceased, fortune telling, dancing and singing. Ghost stories were apparent in Colonial celebrations, and mischief making abounded. By mid-19th Century, autumn festivals were abundant, but Halloween itself was not mainstream yet.

The 1800s with its influx of immigrants, especially Irishmen fleeing the country’s potato famine, popularized Halloween more so than previously. Using both the English and Irish traditions, an American culture of Halloween celebration sprung up, and going door-to-door started. Young women took to making predictions on their husbands’ futures using yarns and mirrors, and by the late 1800s, Halloween became more a time of community than a serious holiday. Ghosts, witches, and pranks were less commonplace. The holiday lost much superstitious and religious ties.

Individuals look forward to the last night of October no matter what their ages! Halloween means a celebration of individuals of all ages running around in their costumes and parties with friends, neighbors and relatives. It’s a time when people can and do wear what they want and eat sweets voraciously. Halloween was not always this way however. The origins of Halloween date back thousands of years, to a festival that was Celtic, called ‘Samhain’ (SOW-IN).

Celts lived in what is now the United Kingdom, Northern France and Ireland some two thousand years ago. ‘Samhain’ was their New Year and came each November 1. This period was the beginning of the winter months and marked the end of summer and harvest. It was a time of cold and darkness. Therefore it became associated with death, and ‘Samhain’ was considered the crossing over of the dead and the living.

Ghosts of the dead were believed to walk the earth again on ‘Samhain’ causing trouble and destruction to food supplies. Druids, who were Celtic priests believed it to be easier to predict the future at this time, and the whims of nature were thought to be prevalent. The prophecies made by the Druids brought comfort and solace during the long, bleak winters.

The Druids made bonfires and sacrificed animals and crops to the Celtic Gods. They also were in costumes, and made these costumes of animal skins. They wore the heads of animals and made predictions to each other while wearing these and they told each others’ fortunes. These bonfires were also considered sacred and after the celebration, the hearth fires were lit from the bonfires.

Romans eventually conquered the Celts territories and ruled for four-hundred years. ‘Samhain’ was combined with a Roman festival called ‘Feralia’ and another called ‘Pomona’. ‘Feralia’ was a celebration of the passing of the dead, while ‘Feralia’ was the Goddess of fruit and trees. This is how ‘bobbing for apples’ got started in modern day traditions as ‘Pomona’ used the apple symbolically.