Samhain, the Saints, and Spooky Season: The History of Halloween

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Today, Halloween is largely celebrated as a lighthearted, secular holiday—a child-friendly carnival of candy corn and costumes. Historically, however, this has not always been the case. The traditions that have blended and morphed into what we call ‘Halloween’ were once held sacred, and to some, they continue to be.

Still, across this transformation, borne out over thousands of years, many ancient traditions endure. The tricks, treats, and trappings of our modern Halloween parties might seem eerily familiar to a Roman, a Celt, or a medieval Christian—even if the context has changed.

Like the vines of a pumpkin patch, Halloween’s history can be traced back to a single set of roots: many groups of ancient Celts kept a holiday at the end of October. The most prominent of these is Samhain (pron. SAW-win), which marked the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice—the very end of the growing season, and with it, the beginning of a new year. Historian J. A. Macculloch said, “the powers of blight were beginning their ascendancy, yet the future triumph of the powers of growth was not forgotten.”

Life and death were cast in harsh relief at this time, and the veil between the two seemed thinner. Fairies and malignant spirits were thought to roam the earth, and great pains were taken to ward them away. People wore the heads and hides of animals to scare the spirits off, food was left to appease them, and lanterns carved from turnips were displayed. These early jack-o’-lanterns served a dual purpose: not only were they meant to fend off evil spirits, they served to welcome home the souls of the beloved dead.

Still, the focus was not entirely limited to the spirits of the otherworld. A sacred bonfire was lit at Samhain, and in turn, each household would use it to rekindle their own hearth. “The bonfire represented the sun,” said Macculloch, “and was intended to strengthen it.” This duality—life and death, light and dark—informed Samhain’s traditional orange and black, colors that have come to define the modern Halloween as well.

When the Celts were conquered by the Romans in 43 CE, the two cultures naturally began to intertwine. The quintessential Halloween game of apple-bobbing originated from a Roman festival honoring the goddess Pomona. Unmarried youth would take turns attempting to bite into an apple floating in a tub of water; the first to catch the apple was said to be the next to marry.

The rites of Samhain were further altered by the rise of Christianity. The church sought to supplant many a pagan holiday with their own, and Samhain was no exception. In the year 835, the observance of All Saints’ Day—also known as All Hallows’ Day—was rescheduled to coincide with Samhain. The holiday had been in observance for some 200 years at that point, but was initially dedicated only to Mary and the Christian martyrs. With the new date came a new focus: to honor every saint.

Historically, many high Christian holidays were preceded by a ‘vigil,’ similar to modern Christmas Eve. The night before All Saints’ Day, October 31st, was known as All Hallow’s Eve, which has over time become ‘Halloween.’

Directly following All Saints’ Day is All Souls’ Day, an observance for the souls of the beloved dead. A historically commonplace All Souls’ Day tradition is the the practice of ‘souling,’ in which children, especially poor children, would go door-to-door and request alms in the form of coins and treats called ‘soul cakes.’

It is thought that the Celtic practice of leaving food for spirits at Samhain, the practice of souling, or a mix of the two contributed to the modern practice of trick-or-treating—though this may have also been influenced by a much later German-American Christmas tradition called ‘belsnickeling,’ where costumed children would win treats if none of their neighbors could guess their identities.

Across centuries, All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day traditions (collectively known as Allhallowtide) gradually secularized, particularly due to the rise of Protestantism. Still, celebrations at the end of autumn remained commonplace—though markedly more focused on pranks and mischief—especially throughout Scotland and Ireland.

It was the influx of Scottish and Irish immigrants throughout the nineteenth century that brought Halloween festivities to America. (Previously, strong Protestant influences precluded the observance of Allhallowtide in the New World.) Once again, long-held traditions began to change shape.

Pumpkins, being more suitable for carving, replaced turnips as the medium of choice for jack-o’-lanterns. Concurrently, the tendency toward mischief continued to escalate, especially when Halloween traditions ran together with Guy Fawkes Day bonfires. Children and youth caused pandemonium across America each year—until 1912, when the town of Hiawatha, Kansas held a massive Halloween party to keep their young folk occupied. The tactic caught on, and Halloween has maintained (largely) family-friendly since.

But of course, this is not the end of the story. As the twenty-first century progresses, Halloween traditions continue to evolve. In recent years, new means of celebrating have become popular—including ‘trunk-or-treats,’ events where families will go trick-or-treating between cars in a single parking lot, rather than between homes in a neighborhood. But even alongside these new practices comes a dramatic return to roots: the revival of Samhain itself by Neo-Pagans.

Neo-Pagan Samhain observances differ from Halloween festivities: Samhain rites are somber, and often performed in private. Some Neo-Pagan practitioners also celebrate Halloween as harmless, secular fun, while others believe that Halloween hi-jinks distract from the profundity of Samhain. At this ‘Witch’s New Year,’ Neo-Pagans contemplate life, death, and the cyclical nature of being—the “powers of blight” and the way that they move with the “powers of growth.”

However it is celebrated, Halloween makes for a marvelous melting pot—pieced together like Frankenstein’s Monster from traditions across cultures and centuries. It only remains to be seen how it rises to meet the future.

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