In America, Halloween is a widely-popular celebration, more so than the Halloween festivities in the UK. There’s an array of candy to try and they love to go all out with their creepy decorations and fancy dress. The Halloween events at the theme parks in America also last for a few months at a time, but as beloved as the holiday is in the States, it didn’t actually originate there.

We see Halloween as a fun time, but it hasn’t always been that way! It has quite a dark history, so before you start carving that pumpkin, why not learn more about where the tradition came from.

Early Origins

All Hallows’ Eve is the traditional name for Halloween, as it falls on 31st October, the day before All Hallows Day, also known as All Saints' Day in the Christian calendar. Dating back to the pagan times in the eighth century and the end of harvest, the tradition is thought to originate from the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain in medieval Europe. This was a celebration of the end of the harvest season and summers end; preparation for the coming winter.

Celts in this period are thought to have believed this time of year was also when the walls between the worlds were thin and porous and enabled spirits to pass through. They feared the return of these spirits, as they thought they might damage their crops for the next season. To mark the event, people would build huge bonfires to burn crops and give animal sacrifices to the gods. Huge feasts would be held and people would try and tell each other’s fortunes. Some would also set up places at their dinner tables and offer the spirits food and drink, to try to appease them.

The Origins of Halloween Fancy Dress

Halloween costumes date back to the ancient Samhain festival, where Druids would wear costumes, most commonly made by themselves from animal skin and heads. They believed that, as we moved from one year to the next, the dead and the living would overlap, and demons would roam the earth again. Wearing these costumes, they believed they could communicate with spirits from different worlds and saw it as a defence mechanism, to ward off any evil ones that might try to disturb the night.

Other sources suggest that people dressed up during the Samhain festival so that they could ask for food or money without being recognised by anybody.

Trick or Treating

Although trick or treating is very well-known in America, its origins lie in medieval Europe. It is said to have started with the tradition of souling, where poor children would visit the houses of wealthier families and say prayers for the homeowners’ dead relatives in exchange for soul cakes. These soul cakes were sweet with a cross on the top and they were intended to represent a spirit being freed from purgatory when eaten.

Over time this tradition developed across Britain and Ireland and started to involve people dressing up in costumes and knocking on doors asking for food. Originally known as guising, young people would visit houses singing songs, reciting poetry or jokes in exchange for fruit, cake and money.

When Did Halloween Arrive in America?

It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that America became aware of Halloween, when immigrants started to bring these traditions and festivals over to the US. The beginning of the 19th Century saw Halloween becoming very popular with children in North America, and also Canada and much of Europe.

In the 1920s, souling/guising started to be replaced with pranking, and the shenanigans only got worse as time went on, especially when the Great Depression hit. Youth-fuelled mischief devolved into flat-out vandalism and violence, as overturned cars, trashed houses, and even harassment and assault became common.

Families then started to go all-out with horrifying Halloween decor and booby traps and invite trick-or-treaters in for a dose of contained mischief.

The Americans soon came up with a new name for this tradition of souling/guising and in 1929 named it trick or treat, partly due to the pranking that started to arise. At this time, businesses also began to cash in on this popular holiday with mass-produced costumes. In the 1950s, candy manufacturers seized the opportunity by creating campaigns especially for the celebration and parents saw it as a cost-effective treat that was easy to distribute.

Pumpkin Carving

This activity also dates back to the Samhain festival when people would decorate their homes to ward off any bad spirits. Instead of pumpkins they used to carve turnips, because pumpkins did not exist in Ireland. On All Hallows Eve, people would carve frightening faces into turnips, put on their doorstep and place an ember in them. Other root vegetables such as beetroot or potatoes were also used, if they didn't have any turnips.

You have most likely heard of the term Jack O’ Lantern, which is used quite a lot in America, but it actually came from Ireland. It is believed to have come from the 18th-century folktale of Stingy Jack, an unsavoury fellow, who had a fondness for mischief and booze and tricked the devil into buying him a drink. Because of this, when Jack died, he wasn’t allowed into heaven or hell. But the devil took some pity on Jack, giving him an ember of coal to light his turnip lantern as he wandered between both places for eternity.

This is just one theory though, as during 17th-century Britain it was common to call a man Jack, if you didn’t know their name. A night watchman, for example, became known as “Jack-of-the-Lantern”.

When the Irish went over to America, they also brought the tradition of carving turnips into Jack O'Lanterns with them. Upon arrival, they quickly discovered that pumpkins were much easier to carve, and made great “lanterns”! As more Americans began to celebrate Halloween, the Jack O’ Lantern emerged as its most iconic image.

So, as you carve your pumpkins and put on your Halloween costumes, think back to where this all began and why we celebrate Halloween. Or perhaps try carving a turnip instead of a pumpkin this year to properly get involved with this ancient tradition and ward off those evil spirits!

Image Credit: Turnip carvings - CC by Culture Vannin