The history of Halloween, from mysterious sacred rites to candy-filled nights

Celtic societies in ancient Britain, Ireland, and Gaul recognised 31 October as the eve of Samhain, a holy festival that ended the harvest season and brought winter’s hardships.

The Celtic calendar divided the year into two halves, with Samhain being the beginning of the dark half.

People believed that the natural world entered a liminal state at this time, which allowed spirits to cross into the world of the living.

As a result, farmers completed their final harvests, drove their animals into winter quarters, and performed rites intended to secure divine favour and spiritual protection for the coming months. 

Communities feared the presence of wandering souls and expected their arrival with anxiety because, according to tradition, some spirits brought harm that spoiled crops, that caused illness, or that stirred unrest among the living.

To avoid drawing their attention, people left offerings of food and drink outside their homes or near sacred spaces, in order to placate the spirits and ensure the safety of their families.

Priests of the Druid class organised communal bonfires where sacrifices were made, and rituals conducted to interpret omens, since decisions made during Samhain had consequences for survival in the winter ahead.

Archaeology finds at places like Navan Fort in Northern Ireland show ritual activity involving animal bones, although direct connections to Samhain remain speculative. 

Rather than rely only on prayers or offerings, individuals also took protective steps to disguise themselves from the spirits.

People wore animal hides or cloaks, and they covered their faces with crude masks in order to confuse or repel any harmful presence they might encounter.

These practices developed into a wider culture of disguise and performance, especially as Samhain celebrations lasted for several days and involved gatherings for feasting, games, and storytelling.

During these events, older generations passed down ancestral knowledge. The name Samhain, pronounced "SOW-in," survives in many folk traditions and is sometimes referred to as the Celtic New Year in later neopagan interpretations. 

After the Roman Empire absorbed much of the Celtic world during the first century AD, its official calendar and religious practices began to influence the local traditions of conquered regions.

Roman Britain became one of the primary areas where this blending occurred.

Roman festivals such as Feralia and Pomona coincided with the late October period, and their resemblance to Samhain allowed for a gradual fusion of customs without immediate resistance from the local population.

In practice, people observed older and newer rites alongside each other and they blended them into single celebrations with layered meanings. 

Feralia was observed on 21 February and focused on honouring the dead, during which families performed rites to ensure their ancestors remained at peace.

Although not seasonally linked to late autumn, the Roman concern with ancestral spirits resonated with existing Celtic beliefs about the return of the dead.

These practices, already common in Roman urban centres, took on new life in rural Celtic areas, where they complemented long-standing fears of restless spirits and the return of the dead.

While Roman religion tended to offer structured ritual, it left room for local variations, especially in areas distant from imperial centres. 

In contrast, the festival of Pomona celebrated the goddess of fruit, gardens, and orchards, and included symbols of abundance such as apples and nuts.

Rituals and games associated with Pomona entered the seasonal practices of Celtic lands and influenced later Halloween customs that relied on apple-based games and symbols of autumn harvest.

The apple, as Pomona's symbol, likely contributed to the later tradition of bobbing for apples.

People continued to carve faces into root vegetables, particularly turnips, yet over time, they incorporated Roman elements that emphasised domestic celebration, fertility, and the natural cycle of decay and renewal. 

Following the Christianisation of Europe, Church authorities reinterpreted pre-Christian festivals and replaced them with new practices that conformed to Christian theology while absorbing local practice.

In AD 609, Pope Boniface IV established All Saints’ Day to honour the memory of Christian martyrs, and although the celebration originally occurred on 13 May, it was later moved to 1 November by Pope Gregory III during the 730s, possibly to coincide with existing Samhain customs. 

The introduction of All Hallows’ Day on 1 November meant that the night before became All Hallows’ Eve, which retained many older themes but gained a Christian context.

The word "Halloween" derives from the term "All Hallows' Eve," with "hallow" meaning "holy person."

By adding All Souls’ Day on 2 November, the Church created a three-day period of remembrance and spiritual focus, during which people prayed for the dead, offered alms, and visited graves to help souls in purgatory.

These practices borrowed heavily from earlier traditions, which had already encouraged offerings to the dead and protective rituals against wandering spirits.

All Souls’ Day itself was formally established by St. Odilo of Cluny in AD 998 for the monasteries under his authority, and the observance gradually spread throughout Christian Europe. 

Although official doctrine dismissed belief in fairies, ghosts, and ancestral spirits as superstition, parish clergy often tolerated these ideas among rural populations.

The result was a festival period that fused Christian intention with popular custom.

People lit candles and carried lanterns, to honour the dead and to keep dark forces away, while children and the poor travelled from house to house and they offered prayers in exchange for soul cakes: a practice that resembled earlier forms of appeasement yet now carried a promise of spiritual benefit for both giver and receiver. 

In medieval England, Scotland, and Ireland, beliefs about spirits and the dead remained central to Halloween, even as the Church sought to limit superstitious behaviour and enforce doctrinal clarity.

People continued to believe that the dead could return during Hallowtide, and they maintained rituals of protection and remembrance that drew from both Christian teaching and older folklore.

Bonfires still lit the night in many places, though they now included prayers and chants to saints, and some communities rang bells to ward off evil. 

The tradition of 'souling' also evolved as communities adapted Christian practices to rural life.

Children, beggars, and tradesmen visited households during the Hallowtide period, offering to pray for deceased relatives in return for food or drink.

Over time, this custom turned into a kind of performance, where visitors sang songs or recited verses before receiving their reward.

In some places, people believed that every soul cake received meant one soul freed from purgatory.

One traditional verse went: "A soul cake, a soul cake, / Please good missus, a soul cake. / An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, / Any good thing to make us all merry." 

The Protestant Reformation, which began in 1517, led many reformers to reject both Catholic rituals and folk traditions.

Suspicious of Catholic practices and older customs, Protestant leaders discouraged public celebration, yet traditional observances survived in rural areas.

In Ireland and Scotland, young people disguised themselves in frightening costumes and travelled from house to house in a custom called 'guising'.

They carried carved lanterns made from turnips, which they believed could frighten away evil spirits, which often included songs, riddles, or tricks, and helped preserve community bonds during the darker part of the year. 

When large numbers of Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in North America during the 19th century, particularly during and after the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852), they brought Halloween customs with them.

Communities still observed Halloween with bonfires, storytelling, fortune-telling games, and the practice of guising.

In a new environment, immigrants adapted their traditions to the materials and social conditions available, and over time, these customs spread outside the original ethnic groups who brought them. 

Turnips used for lanterns in the British Isles were difficult to carve and were replaced by pumpkins, which grew in abundance across North America and better suited both aesthetic and practical needs.

These larger, softer vegetables allowed for more elaborate designs and quickly became the standard for Halloween decorations.

What is more, urbanisation and the growth of neighbourhood communities helped shift Halloween from a rural and ritual event to a social occasion centred on children and entertainment.

One of the earliest recorded American mentions of Halloween appeared in 1837 in The Lady’s Book, although other scattered references may predate this publication.

Regardless, by the 1930s, trick-or-treating had emerged as a widespread custom. 

By the early 20th century, schools and civic groups began to promote Halloween as a way to prevent vandalism and encourage orderly conduct among youth.

Activities focused on parades, costume contests, and games, while trick-or-treating gained popularity as a form of safe and structured begging.

Businesses saw the opportunity to market sweets, costumes, and decorations to a growing consumer base, and by the 1950s, Halloween had become a major commercial holiday in the United States.

In recent years, the American Halloween industry has generated over $10 billion annually, according to reports from the National Retail Federation, which makes it the second most commercially successful holiday after Christmas.