History of Halloween
By: Elizabeth Patrick
Did you know, according to Country Living, “The word “Halloween” comes from All Hallows’ Eve and means “hallowed evening”? Every year millions of people will spend the month of October decorating and enjoying fun fall-filled activities leading up to the holiday of Halloween.
Halloween is a nationally celebrated holiday celebrated every year on October 31. The Halloween tradition started with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where people would have bonfires and dress up in costumes to ward off ghosts.
Over time, Halloween has evolved into a day of activities where children and teens will enjoy various activities. Some of the most famous activities include: trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, going in haunted houses and walks, and dressing up in different costumes.
Halloween is celebrated annually on October 31 for a variety of reasons. To start with, Halloween is celebrated on this day because the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, the oldest known Halloween tradition, takes place on this day. This day marked a critical time of the year when the seasons were changing, and observers believed that they were able to connect with the dead.
This belief was commonly shared among other cultures, but most commonly around the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which also occurs in October and involves praying for the dead. This was when Halloween gained its scary or haunted reputation.
One of the first American Colonial Halloween celebrations consisted of large public parties to commemorate the upcoming harvest, tell ghost stories, sing, and dance. Over time, Halloween has grown in fame and popularity; today, you will find thousands of houses decorated with pumpkins, gourds, and different decorations, kids dressed in costumes trick or treating, and teens going into haunted houses and walking with the hope of being scared.
To finalize, Halloween started with the ancient festival of Samhain and, over the years, has turned into one of the most popular holiday celebrations where you will find hundreds of kids trick or treating or going into haunted houses.
