By Period 8 WIN
The history of Halloween is an interesting topic: Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who lived many years ago, mostly in present-day Europe, celebrated Halloween, or their new year, on November 1st.
The Devil’s Night is a separate informal holiday from Halloween. On this night, children play mischievous pranks and break laws, such as vandalism or throwing parties late at night. It is known by many names, such as Devil’s Night, Gate Night, Goosey Night, Moving Night, and more. The names mainly depend on where you live, as many countries and states have their own name for this wicked holiday. Even today, many teenagers participate, despite disapproval from adults and officials. This holiday is widely disliked by older people, which is why fewer people participate in this Halloween tradition.
Today’s Halloween ghosts are often depicted as more fearsome and malevolent, and our customs and superstitions are scarier too. We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid they might bring bad luck. This idea has its roots in the Middle Ages, when many believed that witches avoided detection by turning themselves into black cats.
The history of trick-or-treating dates back to 1000 C.E. The church designated November 2 as All Souls’ Day, a time for honoring the dead. Rather than pledging to pray for the dead, people would sing a song, recite a poem, tell a joke, or perform other “tricks” before collecting their treat, which typically consisted of fruit, nuts, or coins. During some Celtic celebrations of Samhain, villagers disguised themselves in costumes made of animal skins to drive away phantom visitors. Banquet tables were prepared, and food was left out to placate unwelcome spirits.
This is the history of what Halloween used to be called, All Hallows’ Eve. It has Christian origins and historic customs. Halloween is thought to have influences from Christian beliefs and practices. The English word ‘Halloween’ comes from “All Hallows’ Eve,” the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows’ Day (All Saints’ Day) on November 1st and All Souls’ Day on November 2nd.
Everyone knows how people dress up for Halloween, from cute little costumes like unicorns or characters to scary clowns or monsters, etc. But does anyone really know why people started wearing costumes? The real reason is that, from the late 15th century, people wore spooky outfits to personify winter spirits or demons and would recite verses, songs, and folk plays in exchange for food (a practice known as “mumming”). This means they dressed up to scare away demons and evil spirits. But now, people tend to dress up however they want, like characters or fun duo costumes. It seems the reason we dress up has changed, from scary to cute, but it all depends on how people decide to celebrate.
The history of Halloween costumes goes back over 2,000 years. Historians consider the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, which marked summer’s end and the beginning of the year’s “darker” half in the British Isles, to be the holiday’s precursor. It is said that in the 1960s, Halloween costumes became more “light.” America learned to dress with costumes from Native American and European traditions. Chinese Halloween is also called the Ghost Festival, celebrated in China on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. The festival of Samhain came from Ireland, which means Halloween costumes originated there. The first Halloween costumes were saints, devils, and angels. People started using Halloween costumes in the 16th century, which means the 1600s.
As you can see, the history of Halloween is an interesting and spooky topic. It’s a holiday where you can be whoever you want and dress up with no repercussions. It dates back to the Celtic festival when they celebrated their new year on November 1st. This spooky holiday will always be celebrated by Halloween lovers around the world.
The SAMS Salmon 