Why Do We Celebrate Halloween?

Halloween has been celebrated in some form or another for over a thousand years. Originally a religious holiday, it became increasingly secular throughout time, until its religious overtones were almost completely lost. Today, Halloween is seen as a celebration for dressing up and having a good time, especially among children.

The origins of Halloween can be traced back to the ancient Celtic feast of Samhain, which took place on November 1 in modern calendars. People dressed up in costumes and lit bonfires to scare off spirits on that day, as it was believed that the souls of the deceased returned to their houses. Popular Halloween stereotypes like witches, ghosts, and goblins became connected with the holiday as a result of this.

Pope Boniface IV established All Saints Day in the 7th century CE, which was first observed on May 13. Pope Gregory III relocated the event to November 1 a century later, most likely as a Christian replacement for the pagan festival of Samhain. All Hallows Eve, or Halloween, was the day before the holy commemoration.

Though it originated in the Celtic regions of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France, the festival swiftly expanded to other parts of the globe. For religious concerns, the earliest American colonists in New England were banned to celebrate it, while it was popular in the Southern colonies. Fall festivities commemorating the seasonal harvest began to include Halloween aspects by the 1800s, and Irish immigrants fleeing the horrific Potato Famine brought many Halloween traditions with them that are being practiced today.

Trick-or-treating, in which children dress up in costumes and ask neighbors for treats, became popular in the United States in the early twentieth century as Irish and Scottish communities revived the Old World custom of "guising," in which a person would dress up in costume and tell a joke, recite a poem, or perform some other trick in exchange for a piece of fruit or other treats. Trick-or-treating for sweets had become one of the most popular Halloween activities by 1950. Today, Halloween is one of the most lucrative candy-selling occasions in the United States, with yearly sales reaching $2.5 billion.