History Of Halloween

By: Ella Smith

Editor: Grace Pilkay

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Halloween has been around for many years and many people enjoy everything about it. The scary monsters, creepy music, fall scents, tasty candy, and creative costumes have made Halloween a holiday people will never forget. But what most people don’t know about Halloween is where it came from. The holiday originated with the Celtic people in the festival of Samhain. At this festival, people would have bonfires and wear costumes in order to keep ghosts away. Then, in the eighth century, Pope Gregory III made November 1 a time to honor all saints. Soon after, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions from Samhain. The evening before this was known as All Hallows Eve, which is now known as Halloween. In time, more traditions like trick or treating, pumpkin carving, wearing costumes, bobbing for apples, and having festive parties became Halloween traditions.

But, how did Halloween come to America? In colonial New England, Halloween wasn’t a big deal because of the Protestant belief system they had, but in Maryland and other southern states, Halloween was much more common. In the 19th century, America had many new immigrants come in from Europe, especially Ireland. This helped popularize Halloween and made it into the holiday it is today. So, when you want to know where Halloween came from, just think it all began as a festival that was meant to keep ghosts away.