October 31 - Halloween

This Day in History: 31 October 2020

 

31 October 1745

 

275 years ago, today, the term 'Halloween' was first used. However, the celebration dates much further back, originating with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. During this, people would light bonfires and wear costumes in order to ward of ghosts. The day also marked the end of summer and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time associated with human death. The Celts believed that on this night, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. When the celebration was over, their hearth fires were re-lit to help protect them during the winter.

 

After the Roman Empire had conquered the Celts, Halloween traditions changed. In 1000 A.D., the church made November 2 All Souls' Day, also known as All-hallows, a day to honour the dead, most likely to replace the Celtic festival with a related, church-sanctioned holiday. It was still similar to Samhain, however. The day was eventually moved to November 1 sometime in the 8^th century. The night before it began to be called All-Hallows Eve, and eventually transformed into Halloween. Although British Halloween traditions include games such as bobbing for apples and telling ghost stories, it was from the United States that modern innovations like the use of pumpkins and 'treat-or-treating' originated.

 

Want to find out more about the history of Halloween? Click here for more information, or here for Halloween costumes inspired by history.