Halloween parties are some of the best parties of the year. From trick or treating to fake blood and teeth and Halloween costumes, Halloween night is full of spooky fun! But why do we celebrate Halloween? And where do all of these odd Halloween traditions come from? What are the origins of Halloween? Well, to answer that, we need to go back in time - and a lot further than you may think!
The Ancient Celtic Festival Roots - Samhain
Halloween's origins date back over 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"). The original Halloween holiday celebrated the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It was celebrated by the Celts, a tribe that originally came from Ireland, but spread over the UK, northern France and more (more on this later).
The festival was held on 1st November and it was said to be when the boundary between the living and dead was at its thinnest. This allowed spirits to cross over into the world of the living - pretty creepy, right? To protect themselves from bad spirits, the Celts lit huge bonfires and dressed in costumes to disguise themselves from the ghosts. They also offered food and drink to the spirit world to make them happy and ensure a good harvest the following year.
It wasn't just this Celtic festival that shaped the history of Halloween, though.
The Influence of the Romans: Feralia and Pomona
As the Roman Empire grew, it absorbed lots of Celtic territories and traditions. The Romans quite liked Samhain and so combined it with two Roman Festivals - Feralia and Pomona - further shaping Halloween.
Feralia is a day in late October when Romans honoured the passing of the dead. The second was Pomona, a festival dedicated to the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which is likely the origin of the Halloween tradition of bobbing for apples. Apples are also in season at this time of year, which is why we still have them in the form of candy apples, and things like that.
All Saints Day and All Hallows Eve
By the 9th century, the spread of Christianity had reached Celtic lands, and church leaders wanted to replace or blend pagan festivals with Christian ones.
In 1000 AD, the church designated November 2nd as All Souls' Day, a day to honour the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils.
All Souls' Day was part of a trio of holidays known as Allhallowtide, which also included All Saints' Day on November 1st (also called All Hallows). The evening before All Saints' Day became known as All Hallows' Eve, eventually shortened to Halloween. Over time, the traditions of Samhain, All Souls' Day, and All Hallows' Eve blended together, creating the holiday we now know as Halloween.
Halloween in America
Halloween was not initially widely celebrated in colonial America. The strict Protestant beliefs in New England weren't really aligned with the holiday's pagan and Catholic roots. Although it was celebrated in the southern colonies a little bit, particularly among European communities.
By the mid-19th century, though, America saw a massive influx of Irish and Scottish immigrants fleeing the potato famine. They brought with them many Halloween traditions, including carving turnips into lanterns to ward off evil spirits, they'd wear costumes just like the Celts had, and enjoy festive gatherings and feasts.
Oh, by the way, the Irish and Scottish immigrants really did carve turnips into lanterns. This tradition comes directly from an Irish story about a guy named Stingy Jack. The turnip wasn't as plentiful in America, but the pumpkin was. So when it came to carving jack-o-lanterns, the pumpkin took its place as an icon.
When the Americans started to introduce traditional Halloween customs, they were still very much of the spooky, supernatural vibe. However, by the late 1800s, Halloween in the U.S. began to lose its really spooky, supernatural focus and became more about community and neighbourly get-togethers. Parades, parties, and games like bobbing for apples became common, and the holiday was increasingly centred around children.
So, people in the late 1800s celebrated Halloween much like us. The scary costumes made way for children dressed in more fun costumes, carving pumpkins became a big thing, and so did candy corn, which was once called chicken feed!
Halloween and Chocolate
Halloween festivities wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun without chocolate and candy! The gifting of food during Halloween is a long tradition, and sweet treats have seemingly always been on the Halloween menu.
This year, Cocoba has some really exciting and delicious (and spooky, of course) Halloween treats to excite and scare! They are perfect for Halloween parties, trick or treating or as a spooky treat! So, after you find out about the origins of Halloween, make sure you check out our Halloween chocolate collection - if you dare!
The Birth of Trick-or-Treating
The tradition of trick-or-treating as we know it didn't fully take shape until the 1920s and 1930s. It evolved from several older customs, including "mumming" and "souling." In mediaeval Europe, sometime in the Middle Ages, people would dress up in costumes and go door-to-door performing short plays or songs in exchange for food or money, a practice known as mumming. "Souling" involved poor people, especially children, going from door to door on All Souls' Day to beg for food (like soul cakes) in exchange for prayers for the dead.
In America, the tradition of dressing up and going door-to-door was revived (without the plays, prayers or singing) and adapted during the Great Depression as a way to curb vandalism and give children something fun and structured to do. The phrase "trick-or-treat" was popularised, offering homeowners a choice: give the kids some candy or chocolate or be pranked!
Modern Halloween: A Global Celebration
Today, Halloween is celebrated in many parts of the world, although the way it's observed can vary widely. In the United States, it has become a massive cultural event, with billions of dollars spent annually on Halloween decorations, costumes, candy and parties. Communities embrace the holiday with haunted houses, pumpkin patches, and parades, making it a season-long celebration.
In the UK, Halloween celebrations are often classically understated, but donning costumes, telling ghost stories, trick or treating and enjoying candy and chocolate, is becoming more and more widespread.
Halloween has inspired numerous amazing movies, books and TV shows over the years. This has solidified Halloween’s place in popular culture as the ultimate celebration of all things spooky. From horror movie marathons to elaborate costumes and haunted hayrides, Halloween continues to evolve, blending ancient traditions of Celtic priests with modern creativity.
A Holiday with Deep Roots and Endless Fun
While the dark origins of Halloween have been lifted, there's still just enough spookiness to keep things fun and scary. Halloween’s journey from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain to the global celebration we know today is a testament to its enduring fun!
Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in the world and it has evolved so much over thousands of years yet it's never lost its connection to the mysterious and the macabre. Whether you’re carving a pumpkin, donning a costume or just enjoying Cocoba chocolate, you’re participating in spooky traditions that span centuries and continents!
Happy Halloween! 🎃
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