Halloween History & Origin

Halloween is the one of the oldest holidays still celebrated today. It's one of the most popular holidays,
second only to Christmas. While millions of people celebrate Halloween without knowing its origins and
myths, the history and facts of Halloween make the holiday more fascinating.
Some people view Halloween as a time for fun, putting on costumes, trick-or-treating, and having theme
parties. Others view it as a time of superstitions, ghosts, goblins and evil spirits that should be avoided at
all costs.
As the Christian debate goes on, celebrating Halloween is a preference that is not always viewed as
participating in an evil holiday. Halloween is often celebrated with no reference to pagan rituals or the
occult.

Halloween History
Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday,
honoring the dead. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back to over 2000 years
ago.All Hallows Eve is the evening before All Saints Day, which was created by Christians to convert
pagans, and is celebrated on November 1st. The Catholic church honored saints on this designated day.

Origin of Halloween
While there are many versions of the origins and old customs of Halloween, some remain consistent by
all accounts. Different cultures view Halloween somewhat differently but traditional Halloween practices
remain the same.Halloween culture can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain
and Northern Europe. Roots lay in the feast of Samhain, which was annually on October 31st to honor the
dead.Samhain signifies "summers end" or November. Samhain was a harvest festival with huge sacred
bonfires, marking the end of the Celtic year and beginning of a new one. Many of the practices involved
in this celebration were fed on superstition.The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets
and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to
pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating

Halloween Traditions & Customs

Ever wonder how Halloween began and who started the eccentric practices which evolved into our
celebrations today?
Let's explore local and global customs and traditions that make Halloween what it is today -- and why it's
so much fun.

Costumes
Halloween costumes originated from the Celts when they lit huge bonfires and celebrated Samhain by
dressing up in elaborate animal skins and heads to disguise themselves as spirits and demons so that the

real ones couldn't distinguish them as being human. Their ceremonies consisted of dancing, telling
stories, and reading fortunes.

Jack 'O Lanterns

The traditions of carving jack 'o lanterns originates with the Celts. A miserable man named Jack, tricked
the devil. Unable to enter heaven or hell after his death, he was destined to roam the earth listlessly. Jack
placed a piece of coal into a carved-out turnip and used it as a lantern to keep the evil spirits away. Today,
pumpkins (which are easier to cut) are carved into jack-o-lanterns, lit and placed outside of doorways for
the same purpose.

Trick or Treating
The custom of trick or treating evolved in Ireland, centuries ago. In preparation for All Hollow's Eve, the
the poor would call upon the rich folks and request money, gifts and food. The food was gathered for a
huge feast and celebration.

Bonfires
In northern Ireland, it was customary for Druids to perform ritualistic ceremonies and make sacrifices to
pacify their gods. The Celts would bring wood and start their Samhain bonfire or, fire festival, on the
hilltop. Often, they would throw the bones of slaughtered cattle into the flames.The word "bonfire" is said
to be derived from such "bone fires." Bonfires and sacrifices guaranteed that the sun would burn brightly
after a long, dreary winter. It's common to witness hundreds of traditional bonfires in Ireland every year
on Halloween Night.

UNICEFA
popular tradition in America, trick or treating for UNICEF began in 1950, when Philadelphia youngsters
decorated milk cartons and collected money to help less fortunate children. UNICEF increases public
awareness and raises funds to provide health care, nutrition, immunizations and clean water, around the
world.

Main Characters
Witches
Just like the pumpkin, witches have some presence at this party. The belief that women - usually elderly were witches, originated during the medieval darkness, when people did not have any understandings of
the world. Family traditions, secrets and lessons were taken as art of the devil, since they were not
understood. In this context, the elderly - who knew the art of healing through medicinal plants - were
often taken to worshiping the devil. The persecution of alleged witches such extended for years, and
eventually enter the folklore of Halloween.

Black cat
According to the stories, witches could use a black cat as a mount. The animal would lead to the Sabbath,
the celebration in honor of the devil. In other traditions, the witch materialized in the form of a black cat,
who can charm fit.

Bat
This creature, for its ability to fly in the dark, acquired the reputation of possessing occult forces. The
flying mammal also had the characteristics of a bird (for the occult symbol of the soul) and demons
(being nocturnal). During the medieval era, it was believed that demons materialized on Earth in the form
of bats.

Bonfire
During Samhain the Druids were huge bonfires. Some shamans Celts believed that the fire purified and
therefore forced animals to cross a portal wood burning. The custom of bonfires in some celebrations of
Halloween is still present.

Ghosts
The poor souls have always been part of the human imagination, and as Halloween originated in
celebration to honor the dead, the ghosts could not stay away.

Incorporated characters
Halloween, come by a party related to the dead, just importing many other characters that are part of
Western culture. In this context we find the Werewolf, Dracula and even the lifeless creature created by
Dr. Frankenstein, although none of these three have a unique bond with the party.

Food
Because in the Northern Hemisphere Halloween comes in the wake of the yearly apple harvest, candy
apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are common Halloween
treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts.
At one time, candy apples were commonly given to trick-or-treating children, but the practice rapidly
waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor
blades in the apples in the United States.[ While there is evidence of such incidents, relative to the degree
of reporting of such cases, actual cases involving malicious acts are extremely rare and have never
resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless, many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant
because of the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered free X-rays of children's
Halloween hauls in order to find evidence of tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning
incidents involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy.

One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of a
barmbrack (Irish: birn breac), which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms
are placed before baking. It is said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year.
This is similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany.
List of foods associated with Halloween:

Barmbrack (Ireland)
Bonfire toffee (Great Britain)
Candy apples/toffee apples (Great Britain and Ireland)
Candy apples, Candy corn, candy pumpkins (North America)
Monkey nuts (peanuts in their shells) (Scotland and Ireland)
Caramel apples
Caramel corn
Colcannon (Ireland; see below)
Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc.
Pumpkin, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Roasted sweet corn
Soul cakes
Scary Faced Pizza

Halloween Trivia & Fun facts

Because of the unknown, Halloween is the one of the most captivating holidays, often celebrated by both
adults and children. The element of surprise makes it fun and unpredictable. Enlighten yourself with
Halloween trivia and fun facts to enjoy the holiday even more. Take the trivia and make a quiz for your
next party!

Halloween Holiday Trivia

Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and
black is associated with darkness and death.
Jack o Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep
away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.
Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!
Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the
harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night.
They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.
Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors
Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

Monster Trivia & Folklore

Signs of a werewolf are a unibrow, hair palms, tattoos, and a long middle finger.
Vampires are mythical beings who defy death by sucking the blood of humans.
In 1962, The Count Dracula Society was founded by Dr. Donald A. Reed.
To this day, there are vampire clubs and societies with people claiming to be real vampires.
There really are so-called vampire bats, but they're not from Transylvania. They live in Central
and South America and feed on the blood of cattle, horses and birds.
Many people still believe that gargoyles were created by medieval architects and stone carvers to
ward off evil spirits.

Creepy Tidbits

If you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved on watching over you.
Worldwide, bats are vital natural enemies of night-flying insects.
The common little brown bat of North America has the longest life span for a mammal it's size,
with a life span averaging 32 years.
In about 1 in 4 autopsies, a major disease is discovered that was previously undetected.
The Ouija Board ended up outselling the game of Monopoly in its first full year at Salem. Over
two million copies of the Ouija Board were shipped.