The first celebrations included “play parties,” which were public events held to celebrate the harvest. Halloween was much more common in Maryland and the southern colonies.Īs the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups and the American Indians meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The celebration of Halloween was extremely limited in colonial New England because of the rigid Protestant belief systems there. READ MORE: How the Early Catholic Church Christianized Halloween Halloween Comes to America The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday.Īll Souls’ Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. In A.D. 1000, the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of bobbing for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.īy the 9th century, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted older Celtic rites. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. In the course of the 400 years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. 43, the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.ĭid you know? One quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). WATCH: Haunted History on HISTORY Vault Ancient Origins of Halloween Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2022 will occur on Monday, October 31. Halloween Matchmaking and Lesser-Known Rituals.
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