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The History of Halloween
- phsnewspaper.com
- Oct 30
- 2 min read
By Isabella Pena
Nobody knows what year it started specifically, only that it originated around 3,000 BCE and was celebrated as “Samhain” long before the ancient Celts, as a celebration of the beginning of the new year, winter coming, and the harvest season arriving.
609 CE, because of Martin Luther and his 95 Theses, the Roman Catholic Church made a new holiday called “All Hallows Day”; better known as All Saints’ day or All Souls' Day. It was made to be celebrated on November 1st by Pope Boniface IV, Pope Gregory III, and Pope Gregory IV. Therefore, the eve of that holiday was on October 31st, named All Hallows’ Eve. Does that day sound familiar?
Centuries later, in the late 1800s, young boys would run around town covered head to toe in straw like a scarecrow, in a practice called souling or belsnickeling. It’s said that they would go house to house to entertain people and pray for the families in exchange for food; this is often referenced as some of the earliest mentions of modern-day trick or treating. This is just one of the many traditions that started what we now do on Halloween, just like carving pumpkins, wearing masks or costumes, and hosting parties.
During the 1950s, schools would start to indirectly or directly promote trick-or-treating for All Hallows’ Eve, now at this point evolved into Halloween as we know it today. This was because rowdy children and teenagers would cause havoc and, on worse occasions, damage to property in the spirit of mischief. Trick-or-treating gave children something to do and stay occupied with on that night. From then on, costumes evolved from paper and homemade to fabrics and store-bought, largely keeping the same memo of mischief and autumn cheer.
Sadly, today the holiday just isn’t the same as it used to be. New traditions like trunk-or-treating and drive-in movies have been added, but do they uphold the same original spirit of Halloween in all of its mischievous glory? That much is unsure, but the only way to truly kill the Halloween spirit is to not celebrate at all.