Halloween History

From communion with the dead to pumpkins and pranks Halloween is a patchwork holiday Sticks together with cultural, religious and the called traditions that spanned centuries It all began with the Celts, a people whose culture had spread across Europe more than 2000 years ago October 31st was the day they celebrated the end of the harvest season and a festival called Samhain That night also marked the Celtic New Year It was considered a time between years A magical time when the ghosts of the dead walked the Earth It was the time when the veil between death and life was supposed to be at its thinnest On Samhain, the villagers gathered and lit huge bonfires to drive the dead back to the spirit world and keep them away from the living But, as the Catholic Church's influence grew in Europe It frowned on the pagan rituals like Samnhain In the 7th century the Vatican began to merge it with a Church sanctioned holiday So November 1st was designated "All Saints' Day" to honor martys and the deceased faithful Both of these holidays had to do with the Afterlife and about survival after death It was a calculated move On the part of the Church to bring more people into the fold All Saints's Day was known then as Hallowmas "Hallow" means "Holy" or "saintly" so the translation is roughly "Mass of the Saints" the night before, October 31st, was All Hallows' Eve which gradually morphed into "Halloween" The holiday came to America with the wave of Irish immigrants during the potato famine of the 1840s They brought several of their holiday costumes with them including bobbing for apples and playing tricks on neighbors like removing gates from the front of houses The young pranksters were masked so they wouldn't be recognized But over the years the tradition of harmless tricks grew into outright vandalism Back in the 1930s it really became a dangerous holiday I mean, there was such a hooliganism and vandalism Trick or treating was originally an extorsion deal Give us candy or we'll trash your house Store keepers and neighbors began giving treats or bribes to stop the tricks and children were encouraged to travel from door to door for treats as an alternative to trouble making By the late 30s, trick or treat became a holiday greeting