The History of Halloween
Summary
TLDRHalloween's origins trace back 2,000 years to the Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the Celtic New Year's end and a thin veil between the worlds of the living and spirits. Celts offered food to appease spirits and donned costumes for protection. The Roman Catholic Church later transformed Samhain into the three-day All Hallowtide, incorporating All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. Traditions like souling and guising emerged, with people in costumes going door-to-door for treats. In the 19th century, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought these customs to North America. Victorian-era interest in the occult and spiritualism revived old traditions, including Halloween parties with games like apple bobbing. Trick-or-treating, initially a mysterious custom, became mainstream after children in Philadelphia donated their Halloween collections to UNICEF, leading to UNICEF's Nobel Peace Prize in 1965. Today, Halloween is a blend of traditions, focusing on the supernatural and communal sharing of food.
Takeaways
- 🎃 Halloween originated about 2,000 years ago as a Celtic holiday called Samhain, marking the end of the Celtic year.
- 👻 The Celts believed October 31 was a night when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin, and they would offer food and drink to appease spirits.
- 😈 Celts would dress in costumes to protect themselves from vengeful spirits on this night.
- 👵🏻 It was also a time when departed souls were believed to return to the world, so empty chairs were left for them at feasts.
- 🏰 The Roman Catholic Church later transformed Samhain into All Hallowtide, a three-day festival starting with All Hallows Eve on October 31.
- 🍰 In the 15th century, the tradition of 'souling' emerged where people would go door-to-door singing for soul cakes to appease the dead.
- 🇬🇧 In the 16th century, Scottish and Irish 'guising' involved dressing in costumes and going door-to-door for food and money.
- 🌎 The traditions of guising were brought to North America by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century.
- 🎉 Victorian times saw a revival of old traditions and an interest in the occult, with Halloween parties focusing on young adults and romance.
- 🍎 Trick-or-treating was not a Victorian practice, but it became popular in the 20th century, especially after children in Philadelphia donated their Halloween collections to UNICEF, leading to UNICEF winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965.
Q & A
When did the holiday of Halloween originate?
-Halloween originated around 2,000 years ago and was celebrated by the Celts in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.
What was the original name of the holiday that is now known as Halloween?
-The original name of the holiday was Samhain.
What did the Celts believe about the night of October 31st?
-The Celts believed that October 31st was a night when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was very thin, allowing spirits and fairies to cross over.
Why did the Celts put out food and drink on Halloween?
-The Celts put out food and drink to appease the spirits and ensure a prosperous year ahead.
How did the Celts protect themselves from vengeful spirits on Halloween?
-The Celts would dress up in costumes as a means of protection from any vengeful spirits that might attack them on this night.
What was the significance of leaving empty chairs during the feast on Halloween for the Celts?
-Leaving empty chairs was a tradition to welcome the departed souls of relatives who were believed to return to the world on Halloween night.
How did the Roman Catholic Church attempt to change the pagan rituals of Halloween?
-The Roman Catholic Church attempted to change the pagan rituals by supplanting their own holidays onto the pagan holidays, changing Samhain to the three-day festival known as All Hallowtide.
What is the significance of the three-day festival of All Hallowtide?
-All Hallowtide starts with All Hallows Eve (Halloween) on October 31, followed by All Hallows Day (All Saints Day) on November 1, and ends with All Souls Day on November 2.
What was the tradition of 'souling' and how did it relate to Halloween?
-Souling was a tradition starting in the 15th century where people went door to door, often in verse or song, and were given 'soul cakes' in exchange, which were meant to appease the dead.
How did the tradition of 'guising' in Scotland and Ireland differ from 'souling'?
-Guising was similar to souling but included dressing up in costumes and going door to door asking for food and money.
When did the tradition of trick-or-treating become popular in North America?
-The tradition of trick-or-treating became popular in North America in the 19th century with the influx of Irish and Scottish immigrants.
What event in 1950 helped to solidify the custom of trick-or-treating in the United States?
-In 1950, a group of children in Philadelphia donated all the money they collected on Halloween night to UNICEF, which became an annual tradition until 1965.
Why did trick-or-treating lose its mysterious aspect after 1965?
-After UNICEF won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 for the efforts of children collecting money on Halloween, trick-or-treating became a widely expected and accepted custom.
Outlines
🎃 Origins of Halloween
The paragraph discusses the ancient origins of Halloween, which began around 2,000 years ago among the Celts in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. The festival, originally called Samhain, marked the end of the Celtic year and was believed to be a night when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin. The Celts would offer food and drink to appease spirits and dress in costumes for protection. The Roman Catholic Church later transformed Samhain into the All Hallowtide, a three-day festival starting with All Hallows Eve (October 31), followed by All Hallows Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). The tradition of 'souling' emerged in the 15th century, where people went door-to-door singing or reciting verses in exchange for soul cakes. In the 16th century, 'guising' started in Scotland and Ireland, where people dressed in costumes and went door-to-door asking for food and money. These traditions were brought to North America by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century.
🍬 Modern Halloween Traditions
This paragraph describes the evolution of Halloween traditions into the modern era. It highlights the Victorian era's interest in the occult and spiritualism, which saw the revival of old traditions and the inclusion of games centered around young people and romance, such as apple bobbing. The custom of trick-or-treating was not practiced during the Victorian period, but it became popular in the 20th century, particularly after a group of children in Philadelphia donated their Halloween night collections to UNICEF in 1950. This act turned into an annual tradition and contributed to UNICEF winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965. The paragraph concludes by noting that Halloween is a mix of various traditions and customs, but the core elements of recognizing the supernatural and sharing food have remained constant throughout history.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Halloween
💡Celts
💡Samhain
💡All Hallowtide
💡Soul Cakes
💡Guise
💡Mumming
💡Victorian
💡Trick-or-Treating
💡UNICEF
💡Supernatural
Highlights
Halloween originated around 2,000 years ago with the Celts in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.
The holiday was originally called Samhain, marking the end of the Celtic year.
October 31 was believed to be a night when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin.
The Celts would offer food and drink to appease spirits and ensure a prosperous year.
Costumes were worn as protection against vengeful spirits.
An empty chair by the fire was a tradition to welcome back the souls of deceased relatives.
The Roman Catholic Church attempted to Christianize the pagan holiday, changing it to All Hallowtide.
All Hallowtide included All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day.
The tradition of souling emerged in the 15th century, involving door-to-door visits for soul cakes.
In the 16th century, 'guising' was practiced in Scotland and Ireland, involving costumes and asking for food or money.
The Victorian era saw a revival of old traditions and an interest in the occult.
Trick-or-treating was not practiced during the Victorian period.
The custom of trick-or-treating became popular in North America with Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century.
In 1950, children in Philadelphia started the tradition of donating Halloween money to UNICEF.
UNICEF's collection efforts led to the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965.
Halloween is a mix of traditions but consistently involves the supernatural and sharing food.
Transcripts
the holiday of Halloween began around
2,000 years ago it was a holiday that
was celebrated by the Celts and people
that populated Ireland and Scotland in
the Isle of Man the holiday that they
celebrated wasn't called Halloween it
was called saw one and this festival
marked the end of the Celt year the
Celtic calendar was basically divided
into two main categories the dark and
the light winter and summer and October
31 Marta transition this was a night
that the Celts saw there being a very
tenuous hold between our world and the
world of the spirits and the fairies
known as the EEC they would put out food
and drink so that the spirits would be
happy and they would accept this as a
gift and they would be ensured of a
prosperous year coming ahead some of
these Celts would dress up in costumes
and this was a means of protecting
themselves from any vengeful spirits
that might attack them on this night
this was also a time that the departed
souls of the people themselves would
come back to our world and so one
tradition that they had was to leap an
empty chair in front of the fire or to
leave empty chairs at the feast to
welcome their relatives who were back
with them on this night in the ninth
century the Roman Catholic Church tried
to temper some of the pagan rituals they
were going on and one of their ways of
doing this was to supplant holidays of
their own on to the pagan holidays and
so saw one was changed by the Roman
Catholics to what's known as the all
hallowtide
which was a three-day festival it
started with All Hallows Eve on October
31 followed by All Hallows
day which was November 1st that's also
known as All Saints Day and then finally
on November 2nd All Souls Day starting
in the 15th century a tradition known as
soling started which was when people
went door to door usually they talked in
verses or they sang songs in exchange
they were given soul cakes which was
food that was meant to appease the dead
the household that gave them was given
good fortune for the coming year All
Hallows Eve October 31 which was sha1
for the Celts this still was a time
where there was this recognition if not
celebration of the supernatural and that
time when the dead walked the earth it
was thought that people who had died
during that year their spirits were
still wandering in this kind of limbo
and they were not to ascend to heaven or
descend to hell until November 1st in
the 16th century there was a tradition
that started in Scotland and was also
practiced in parts of Ireland known as
guising and this was similar to soling
with the addition that the people would
dress up in costumes and go door to door
asking for food and money and in other
parts of the British Isles it was known
as momming these traditions held true
generation after generation it was in
the 19th century when we had a big
influx of Irish and Scottish immigrants
in the United States and in Canada that
these traditions of guising were adopted
here in North America and slowly bit by
bit the the custom caught on
but the holiday of Halloween was very
popular in Victorian times this was the
late 1800s Early 1900s the Victorians
were very much into bringing back old
traditions there was very much of an
interest in the occult and spiritualism
and they would have parties that largely
were for young adults and had many games
that were part of the celebration that
were centered around young people and
romance for instance bobbing for apples
the person that got an apple and bit
into it was going to be the next person
married trick-or-treating interestingly
was not practiced during the Victorian
period for a long time
adults were kind of flabbergasted about
this custom there weren't a lot of rules
centered around it so people didn't know
when it was happening or why these kids
were coming to their doors asking for
money and for food what firmed up the
custom was a group of kids in
Philadelphia in 1950 who donated all the
money that they had collected on
Halloween night to UNICEF this became a
an annual tradition with its UNICEF
until 1965 when they had amassed so much
money by the these efforts of children
on Halloween that they won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1965 trick-or-treating
for UNICEF became such a big thing that
all of a sudden trick-or-treating didn't
have that mysterious aspect anymore
everybody was doing it and everybody
expected children to be on the streets
in the neighborhoods on Halloween night
going door-to-door
Halloween is such a combination of
different traditions and customs but
there are two things that remain
consistent since the very beginning and
that is that it's a time where the
supernatural and superstitions are
recognized and secondly it's a time to
celebrate and to share food
[Music]
[Laughter]
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