The History of Halloween: 5 Spooky Traditions and Where They Come From

It’s nearly that time of year again: the leaves are beginning to fall, the weather is turning crisp, and the supermarkets are already packed with chocolate ghosts and caramel apples. It’s Halloween!

Whether you’re cozied up on the sofa with a slice of apple pie and a scary movie or heading out dressed as a beloved spooky character, everyone has their favourite Halloween tradition. But do you know where they come from?

Samhain

Halloween can be traced back to Samhain (meaning Summer’s end in Gaelic), an ancient festival celebrated in what is now the UK, Northern France, and Ireland. Thousands of years ago, the Celts considered November 1st the start of the new year, marking the death of Summer and the beginning of Winter. The night before – October 31st – existed outside of time: neither here nor there.

During this time, people believed that the boundary between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. And what happens when the boundary thins? Spirits, sometimes malevolent, pay us a visit.

All Hallows Eve

While we share a lot of traditions with Samhain, it wasn’t until Christian influence that the festival was shaped into something more recognisable. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory designated November 1st as All Saints Day (or all-hallows, from the middle English alholowmesse) and later, in the 11th century, All Souls Day was established the day after to honour and pray for the souls of the deceased. Over time, these celebrations evolved into ‘all hallows eve’, or Halloween, on the 31st of October.

1) Apples

Toffee apples, apple pie, apple bobbing: the humble apple is one of our favourite Halloween treats. But why?

Of course, apples are in season during the Autumn months, but their popularity around Halloween may have deeper roots.

During the Roman Empire, two festivals were held in October: Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and a day dedicated to Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees.

Many believe that apple bobbing was invented to celebrate Pomona, whose symbol was the apple. It was thought that the first to bite an apple would also be the first to find the apple of their eye – a romantic origin to a spooky tradition.

2) Costumes

It’s impossible to imagine Halloween without the costumes: from ghoulish masks to pop culture icons; Halloween costumes have a long history.

During Samhain, many people dressed up, but this looked very different from today’s classic costumes: ancient Celts dressed themselves up in animal skins and skulls, or frightening hand-carved masks.

For some, dressing up was a way to scare off evil spirits, although others believed that disguising as animals or mythical creatures would allow them to blend in with the spirit world. Some also took advantage of their temporary anonymity to play tricks on friends and family – a fun tradition that continues to this day.

3) Trick or Treat?

Speaking of tricks, modern trick or treating has been linked to the Medieval practice of ‘souling’ around All Saints and All Souls Day. Soulers would go door to door and receive ‘soul cakes’ - little cinnamon pastries that look more like shortbread than cake. Each cake symbolised a soul freed from purgatory, and in return, soulers prayed for the families’ deceased relatives.

A similar tradition is ‘mumming’, more popular during Christmas and Samhain. Mumming resembles trick or treating without the tricks: People would dress up in costume and perform songs and plays in exchange for treats.

4) Jack O'Lanterns

The tradition of pumpkin carving traces back to Ireland’s Samhain celebrations, though it wasn’t pumpkins being carved – it was turnips.

In the 19th century, people passed around the folk tale of ‘Stingy Jack’, a man who, one day, invited the Devil to drink with him. True to his ‘stingy’ reputation, Jack convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin to avoid paying. When the Devil obliged, Jack placed the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross, preventing the devil from changing back. Jack only freed him after securing two promised: that the Devil wouldn’t bother him for a year and wouldn’t claim his soul when he died.

A year later, the Devil returned, but Jack tricked him again, this time getting the Devil to climb a tree for fruit. While up the tree, Jack carved a cross into the bark, preventing him from climbing back down, and demanding another promise – to leave him alone for another 10 years.

Soon after, Stingy Jack died, but because of his deceitful ways, God refused him entry into Heaven. The Devil, having promised not to claim his soul, also denied him entry to Hell. Instead, Jack was left to roam the night with only a burning coal inside a carved turnip to light his way, earning him the name, ‘Jack of the Lantern’. To ward off his wandering spirit, people began to carve turnips, called Jack O’ Lanterns.

But why don’t we carve turnips anymore? When Irish immigrants brought these stories and customs to the US, there was one problem: turnips weren’t easily found in America. Instead, pumpkins, which are easy to grow in the US, were used instead.

5) Bonfires

In the UK and Ireland, Halloween is celebrated with huge bonfires - perfect for toasting marshmallows in the moonlight with a warm cup of hot chocolate. This fun tradition has roots in Samhain, when people lit bonfires to ward off evil spirits at the time of the year when the veil between the living and the dead was paper thin.

For the Celts, though, bonfires were a little more ‘bare bones’: no toasty cup of apple cider, no marshmallows, and no fireworks. The term ‘bonfire’ actually comes from ‘bone fires’, named after the Celtic practice of throwing animal bones into the flames to keep spirits away.

Excited for spooky season? Treat yourself to a trip to Dublin and experience Samhain where it all began!

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