Halloween: A day for scary movies, plastic masks, delicious sweets, elaborate costumes and huge parties.
Halloween has been observed for more than a millennium, but the original Halloween had nothing to do with fake blood or sugar highs. Its roots are unrecognizable to those of us who are used to the mega-market holiday of today. Halloween was recognized in Celtic tradition Oct. 31, but it was originally known as “Samhain,” which means “end of summer.” On Samhain, Celts believed supernatural forces such as ghosts, devils and witches were free to wander where ever they wished.
To combat the influx of evil powers, a priestly class of Celts known as Druids carried out certain rituals. Bonfires, which represented the sun to the Celts, were lighted on each hilltop surrounding the village to help the Druids in their fight against the dark powers.
On Samhain the people would dress up and paint their faces to “blend in” with the ghosts, witches, devils and fairies that walked among them on this day. It was believed it might offer them some protection against mischief. This was where the tradition of dressing up in a costume came into being.
Trick-or-treating also is rooted in ancient custom. People would leave treats on their doorsteps for fairies and good spirits for luck in the coming year.
The custom of carving jack o’ lanterns is believed to have come from an old Irish custom of creating lanterns out of vegetables. Once a lighted candle was placed inside, it was believed that the light would drive away evil spirits.
The ancient traditions were changed as Christianity spread across Europe. According to Historychannel.com, Pope Boniface IV designated Nov. 1 as All Saints Day. It was believed that he did this in order to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related but church-sanctioned holiday. Variations of the traditions of Samhain continued.
The Halloween holiday as we know it became popular for the first time in the 1920s and 1930s. Costumes became more detailed and decorations were suddenly in demand. Today, Halloween is the second biggest retail holiday, next to Christmas. According to the Halloween Association Report, sales in 2000 are estimated to be about $6 billion in costumes, candy and decorations. The National Confectioners’ Association has projected that candy sales alone will reach $1.93 billion this Halloween.