You’re all set for Halloween. You have all the accessories needed for your Halloween costume party. You also bought the candies that you will hand out to those who will knock at your doorstep for trick-or-treat. You have the lineup the movies that you will watch during Halloween night.
You might be wondering why are we doing all these in the first place. Why is celebrated Halloween on October 31? Why does it have to be spooky?
Let’s answer these questions one by one.
Ancient origins
According to History.com, the celebration of Halloween can be traced to Samhain, a Celtic festival. For the Celts, the end of October marks the start of the cold winter season.
This season is associated with the Celts to human death. In fact, it is the end of October for the Celts is when the ghosts of the dead return to our world.
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In Samhain, Celtic priests known as druids built sacred bonfires, the flames of which serve as protection from the spirits which can cause trouble or damage their crops. The Celts gather around these bonfires, burn crop and animal sacrifices for their deities. They even wear costumes. Usually, they wear animal heads and skins.
Now we see that even in the original practice, Halloween was made to be spooky and costume-filled.
Christian infusion
Now, you might be thinking why the Catholics also have a few holidays near Halloween. According to RD.com, this is no coincidence.
During the eighth century, All Martyr’s Day was celebrated during the 13th of May. Eventually, Pope Gregory III moved this occasion to November 1. Fast forward to 1000 A.D., another holiday — All Saint’s Day — was added in the succeeding day, November 2.
But why? This is to make it easier for the Celts to switch into Christianity. The Catholics incorporated the Samhain traditions. The costumes became that of angels, devils, and saint. Samhain was infused with a Christian flair.
At some point, October 31 was called All Hallow’s Eve. Eventually, it became the familiar Halloween.
Modern times
According to Insider, The Celts live in modern-day Ireland and Samhain is still celebrated in Ireland up to this day.
Some of the Irish went to the United States to escape the Potato Famine back in the 19th century. With them, they brought Samhain tradition and practices.
With the American’s adoption of Samhain, the concept of trick-or-treat came into existence. The idea of dressing up for Halloween also became highly popular.
WalletHub estimates that a total of $US 8.8 billion will be spent by the Americans this Halloween 2019. Most of these will be spent on costumes ($ 3.2 billion) and candies ($2.6 billion). Needless to say, we are really in love with this occasion.
Apart from the fun that we are getting from the horror houses and horror films, we can also contribute to a greater cause by participating in Halloween. WalletHub estimates that 80% of the haunted attractions are run by charities.
You might want to make your Halloween celebration more meaningful by looking into charity events in your neighbourhood. You get spooked and you get to help others — that’s a win-win.
Which cities are the best for your 2019 celebration of Halloween? Check out this list.
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