Halloween Essay

Halloween is a very popular holiday and only getting more so. The costumes, spookiness and treats are what it’s known for, but how did these traditions come about and are they celebrated worldwide? With Halloween just around the corner, I was very interested in learning more about it and spreading this knowledge. The Halloween we celebrate today has evolved out of a number holidays of the past. It originates with the Samhain festival celebrated by the Celts around 2,000 years ago (History.com Staff). On the last day of their year, October 31, they had a celebration that marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, which was often associated with death. Therefore, the Celts believed that the boundary between the living and the

As noted by History.com Staff, one was Feralia which took place in late October and commemorated the dead. Another was to honor the goddess Pomona whose symbol was apples, which explains the bobbing for apples tradition. As Catholicism made its way into the Celtic lands, more holidays were added to the mixture of Halloween. All Martyrs Day was established by Pope Boniface IV on May 13, 609 A.D. Pope Gregory III later modified the holiday by making it include the saints as well as martyrs, thus creating All Saints Day on November 1 (History.com Staff). This holiday, combined with Celtic traditions, led to a celebration of the dead on the night before All Saints Day, which is also the original date of Samhain, and it came to be known as All Hallows Eve. As it made its way towards America, the holiday transformed even more. It was not accepted at first by the traditional protestants, but eventually began to take hold as the various European ideals combined with those of Native Americans (History.com Staff). It became tradition to have small gatherings where people would feast, play games, tells stories and predict each other’s futures in reference to the festivals of the past. Dressing up in costumes and going home to home for a reward was taken from European culture and led to the trick or treating we know today (History.com Staff). Halloween has grown in tremendously in popularity over the

Many places celebrate just like us, with the traditional costumes, parties, and trick or treating. Others have their own distinctive traditions. In Latin American countries, they celebrate “El Día de los Muertos”, the day of the dead, which is a three-day celebration beginning on October 31 and finishing on November 2, All Souls Day (“Halloween Traditions”). It is a joyous occasion to remember and honor deceased loved ones, and includes feasts, parades, and picnics. People will often go visit graves of family members to decorate them, leave sacrifices, and pray. The sugar skull is an important symbol of this celebration that is often depicted and it is valued very