History

History of Halloween

The history of Halloween is nearly as old as civilization itself and with all civilizations, all of our ancestors had traditions to remember and honor the dead. These ancient traditions bare little resemblance to what we today call Halloween, but when you examine the modern traditions, you will be able to draw a line to these old ways of remembrance.

Samhain

Reaching back as far as history can take us, brings us to Ireland and the Celtic festival of Samhain, the Celtic New Years festival. The name Samhain (pronounced 'Soo-when', 'So-ween', or 'Saw-wen') means "Summers End", and celebrates the transition from a season of growing and harvest into the cold of Winter. This was also, a time where the Celts believed the dead were most able to interact with the living - either from beyond the grave come back, or for the more recently departed, on their way to the afterlife. Since some of those spirits may have been malevolent to those still living, the practice of 'guising' was developed where one would rub ashes from the great bonfires which were traditionally lit, on to their faces to help disguise themselves from the dead whom they may have wronged, yet still be able to reveal themselves to more benevolent souls. This practice changed with the times and can be seen as the modern tradition of wearing masks.

Other Celtic traditions included stocking up on food and supplies for the Winter, which included slaughtering of cattle and disposing of their bones in large bonfires - the name of which originated from that very practice of having "bone-fires". They would also gather together for feasting and drinking, and welcoming visits from past ancestors - who were treated with favorite foods left out for them - a tradition which continues in many cultures today. Unfortunately, many of the traditions have been lost to time.

Christianity

Christianity came to Ireland around the 5th century and tried to convert the pagan Celts to Christianity through Christianization of traditions such as Samhain - a process known as 'redeeming', which aimed to ease the conversion process to Christianity. One notable example is in the 7th century when Pope Boniface IV set May 13th as a feast to celebrate all the saints who did not have a day of their own. This became known as All Saints Day or All Hallows' Day, part of a three day celebration known as All Hallowtide. However, in the 8th century it was Pope Gregory III who moved All Hallows' Day to November 1st - the day after the traditional evening Celtic celebration of Samhain. This began a merging of the two sets of traditions and the creation of 'All Hallows' Evening' - which shortened to 'All Hallows Eve'n' - which then became 'Hallows' Ev'n' and eventually 'Halloween'. The old traditions were altered to now include, for example, a bonfire to celebrate Christian heroes. Many of the earliest traditions are lost to time, but around the 16th century the practice of 'souling' came into being. This is where the poor of a town would go knocking on doors asking for 'soul cakes' in exchange for prayers to those in the house and their loved ones in purgatory, who might be lifted out by those prayers.

Imagery and Iconography

Ghosts

Skeletons/Skulls

Pumpkins / gourds / leaves / trees

Jack-O-Lanterns

Spiders / Spider webs

Tombstones

Bats

Black Cats

Witches

Moon

Haunted houses

Black

Orange

Purple

Green

Fog / clouds / storms