Halloween 

We don’t know exactly where Halloween originated, but one of the earliest records of it dates back roughly 2,000 years to an ancient Celtic Festival called Samhain. 

Samhain was celebrated from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 to mark the end of summer and welcome “the dark times” or the colder months of the year. They believed, during this time, that the spiritual world was able to visit the physical world. The people would light bonfires and host other events to honor the dead. 

Carving pumpkins

Starting from an Irish myth, a man named Stingy Jack tricks the devil several times. After his death, he was denied entry into both heaven and hell and was forced to wander the earth for all eternity. The devil gives him a burning coal, which Jack puts into a carved-out turnip to light his way. 

Because of the myth, the Irish carve faces out of turnips and light them to ward off Jack’s wandering spirit. This tradition was carried over into North America by Irish immigrants who started carving these same faces into pumpkins because the vegetable was native to the region and more easily available than turnips. 

Trick-or-Treating

Stemming from Celtic tradition, children and adults would go “guising,” derived from the word disguise. Guisers would dress in costumes and go door to door performing a small song, joke or trick in exchange for treats or money. 

Although Scottish and Irish immigrants brought over these traditions in the 1800s, trick-or-treating didn’t become popular in the United States until the 1920s. During this time, the treats were typically homemade cookies, cakes, nuts, fruit or coins. In the 60s and 70s, people worried about the safety of these foods; thus, the individually wrapped candy became the norm from then on. 

Dressing up

On the night of Samhain,  Celts believed the spirits of the dead would return to earth. They welcomed the dead, but feared the spirits would take people back with them to the spiritual world. People would dress up in animal skins to disguise themselves as an animal or monster to trick the ghosts. 

When this tradition became popularized in North America during the 1920s, it didn’t take off until the Great Depression era, when Halloween became something fun and cheap that communities could partake in.