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

In ancient Celtic society, the festival Samhain was an important moment of transition, as October drew to a close and November ushered in the start of winter.

On the evening of the event, the Celts who lived in regions that now include Ireland, Scotland, and parts of Northern Europe, gathered to celebrate the close of the harvest season.

For them, the night before November brought a blending of two worlds—the living and the dead.

Spirits were believed to walk the earth during Samhain and roamed freely across fields and through towns, and the Celts performed rituals to appease or protect themselves from these spectral visitors. 

For those in the Celtic world, Samhain held religious importance beyond the end of harvest.

It was widely believed that this night created a thin boundary between the human and spirit realms, allowing ancestors and other supernatural beings to visit.

People welcomed their ancestors, setting out food and drink as offerings, which were thought to prevent spirits from bringing harm to their homes and livestock.

Masking themselves in animal skins or simple costumes, they attempted to mimic these spirits, blending in to avoid any malice from wandering souls.  

During Samhain, it is believed that fires were lit in open fields to act as beacons for guiding spirits and as a means of warding off harmful entities.

These fires involved gathering in the community, and people often extinguished their household fires before coming together to build the large flames that would burn through the night.

Animals were sacrificed to honor the gods and prepare for the winter season. In return, it was hoped the gods would bring mild weather and protection through the harsh months ahead.

In particular, the smoke and light from these fires carried a deep symbolic meaning, as many Celts believed it had the power to cleanse and protect. 

After the Romans began their conquest of Celtic territories around 43 CE, they brought their own festivals, which merged these with Celtic traditions over time.

The most obvious festival that matched the Celtic one was known as Feralia, a Roman day of remembrance for the dead.

During Feralia, Romans honored the deceased by making offerings, such as bread soaked in wine, to the spirits of their ancestors, which was accompanied by prayers and sacrifices intended to appease restless souls.

This focus on honoring and interacting with the dead gradually merged with the Celtic customs of Samhain, which also involved spirits crossing into the world of the living. 

Meanwhile, the Roman celebration of Pomona, which honored the goddess of fruits and trees, introduced symbols and customs centered around abundance.

Pomona represented plenty and the changing agricultural season. Her symbol was the apple, which later appeared in customs related to Halloween, particularly in the practice of apple-bobbing.

Over the next few centuries, these Roman influences expanded across Celtic lands, where Roman and Celtic practices intermingled and evolved.

By the time of Emperor Claudius, Roman soldiers stationed in these regions practiced both Feralia and Pomona, as well as adapting to local beliefs yet retaining their distinct Roman origins. 

By the early medieval period, the spread of Christianity introduced significant changes to pre-existing pagan traditions, including those related to Samhain.

In 609 CE, Pope Boniface IV established the Feast of All Martyrs, which was dedicated to Christian martyrs and saints.

This feast initially took place in May, yet by the mid-8th century, Pope Gregory III shifted it to November 1.

This shift aligned it roughly with Samhain’s timing. This may have been an intentional effort to offer a Christian alternative to the pagan celebrations.

The new feast became known as All Saints' Day, or Hallowmas. 

Later, the Catholic Church further reinforced this Christianization with the addition of All Souls’ Day on November 2.

This day was established as an occasion to pray for the souls of the departed who had yet to reach heaven.

People observed All Souls' Day by offering prayers, alms, and sacrifices on behalf of these souls.

The addition of All Souls’ Day expanded the Christian focus on the afterlife, replacing pagan rituals with practices approved by the Church.

This inclusion of All Souls’ Day created a three-day period known as Allhallowtide, which included All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day, thus re-framing the former pagan customs within a Christian structure. 

Later in the Middle Ages, Halloween practices became closely linked to the tradition of ‘souling’, which involved the poor visiting homes to offer prayers for the dead in exchange for food.

In parts of England, soulers would go from door to door, often carrying small lanterns made from hollowed-out turnips.

In return for their prayers, householders gave them ‘soul cakes’, small pastries baked in honor of the deceased.

Soul cakes were typically marked with a cross and offered as a way to ensure prayers for the departed souls in purgatory. 

Similarly, ‘guising’ emerged in Scotland and Ireland during the late medieval period, which added a playful aspect to Halloween.

This involved people dressing in simple costumes, often wearing masks or disguises to conceal their identities, as they moved through villages.

In some areas, these ‘guisers’ recited rhymes or performed songs for small offerings of food or coins.

This early form of guising incorporated an element of theatricality and mystery, where each guise created a temporary break from normal social roles.

It allowed people to embody otherworldly figures, even as they engaged in a ritual centered around honoring the dead. 

When Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in the United States during the 19th century, they brought their Halloween customs with them.

The migration was motivated by famine and economic hardship, as millions of Irish immigrants fled to American shores in the 1840s. Once there, they shared their traditions with their new communities, introducing Americans to the Halloween festivity. 

Halloween gained popularity, particularly in urban centers where Irish and Scottish immigrants established strong communities.

Children began to participate in activities like ‘guising’, which became known as trick-or-treating.

Neighbors offered candy or coins to children who performed a rhyme or joke. This created a distinctly American version of Halloween.

By the early 20th century, Halloween had become a holiday widely celebrated across the United States.

It filled neighborhoods with decorations, costumes, and activities centered around the supernatural.

Families carved pumpkins, which were easier to find than the traditional turnips used in Ireland and Scotland. 

By the 1930s, references to this new custom appeared in newspapers across the United States, showcasing it as a fun, festive way for children to celebrate Halloween in their neighborhoods.

Trick-or-treating quickly gained popularity, as communities embraced the idea of children gathering treats in exchange for light-hearted entertainment.

However, during the 1940s, trick-or-treating faced a brief decline due to sugar rationing during World War II, which limited the availability of candy.

As a result, many Halloween celebrations took on a simpler form.  

With the dawn of the 1950s, a booming postwar economy brought renewed prosperity to American households, which meant that more families could participate in Halloween festivities.

Candy companies produced individually wrapped candies marketed specifically for Halloween.

Consequently, Halloween became a mainstay of American culture. Families decorated their homes, welcoming costumed children who roamed the streets in search of candy. 

By the 1980s, this shift resulted in substantial growth in consumer spending.

Americans spent approximately $3 billion on Halloween by the year 2000, primarily on costumes, candy, and decorations.

Many families began purchasing elaborate costumes, which meant Halloween took on a larger economic dimension as stores stocked a variety of pre-made costumes for children and adults.

In 2023, U.S. candy sales for Halloween alone exceeded $3.5 billion, accounting for a significant portion of annual confectionery sales. 

Additionally, Halloween decorations grew in popularity, becoming nearly as elaborate as those for Christmas.

In the early 2000s, American consumers spent around $300 million on Halloween decorations, a number that has since more than quadrupled.

Homes and lawns began featuring inflatable ghosts, fake tombstones, and animatronic skeletons, transforming neighborhoods into haunted scenes.

This trend transformed Halloween into a visual spectacle, encouraging more decorative spending.

Retailers took advantage, stocking items from September through October, further extending the commercial period for Halloween. 

Finally, Halloween has stirred controversy regarding its religious and cultural origins, with some groups questioning its connection to pagan rituals.

Critics often argue that Halloween draws heavily on ancient pagan practices, particularly those from the Celtic festival of Samhain.

This belief has led some religious communities to distance themselves from Halloween, viewing it as a celebration of occultism or as incompatible with Christian values.

Consequently, some religious organizations discourage participation in Halloween events, instead promoting alternatives focused on religious observance.