by Denise Baer

Created on: September 24, 2009

The History of Halloween mutated into something unrelated to its inception. Halloween dates back thousands of years, its origins from the Celts who occupied lands in many areas in Europe and Ireland. They celebrated the New Year on November 1, which represented the end of summer and fall. Winters were associated with death, so the Celts celebrated Samhain on October 31, the night before the New Year when they believed the dead walked amongst the living. Since these spirits roamed the earth, the Celts thought it was a good time for the Celtic priests to predict the future.

To celebrate the day before the New Year, the Celts built bonfires where they sacrificed crops and animals for the deities. They adorned themselves with animal costumes and told each other's fortunes.

Then the Romans conquered the Celtic territories and during their reign two festivities emerged, Feralia and Pomona, combined with the Celtic celebration of Samhain. The Feralia festival was in late October to honor the dead and then another day to celebrate Pomona, Roman Goddess of Fruit and Trees. Merging the Samhain and Pomona, the apple was her symbol is probably how the tradition of bobbing for apples came about.

As Christianity spread, its influence changed the existing festivities. Pope Boniface IV made November 1, Alholowmesse-All Saints' Day to honor the saints and martyrs of the times. There is an assumption this change was to turn the festivals of the dead into a sanctioned holiday by the church. The name eventually changed into Halloween. A few hundred years later, the church made November 2, All Souls' Day to honor the dead.

As immigrants migrated to the United States, they brought with them their own versions of Halloween, but the celebrations in the New England states were limited due to strict Protestant belief. In time, the different ethnic groups' customs along with the American Indians blended to form the American customs of Halloween. It was not until the mid to late nineteenth century, when a flood of immigrants mostly Irish fleeing the famine in their country, that the nations celebrated Halloween. The custom of dressing up and going door to door asking for food or money emerged in the better half of the century. Halloween became a community holiday rather than about the dead.

Since Halloween it was a community holiday, there were celebrations with parades and parties in civic centers and trick-or-treat slowly faded. This practice of celebrating Halloween continued until the influx of babies in the 50s. The baby boom era made it difficult for everyone to gather in town halls, so they moved to schools and homes and this revitalized trick-or-treat. At the time, trick-or-treat was a cheap way for the community to celebrate together unlike in today's times where Halloween costs skyrocketed it to the second largest commercial holiday.

From honoring the dead to community celebration, Halloween grew and joined many customs to form one of the most popular holidays in America.

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