Halloween began as “All Hallows’ Eve,” which stems from “Eallra Halgena Aefen,” an Old English term for “Eve of All Saints’ Day.” Halloween and All Saints’ Day used to be celebrated on the same day, however, they now fall one day apart: Halloween on Oct. 31, and All Saints’ Day on Nov.1
The Samhain, which means “summer’s end,” was celebrated during the medieval era in Scotland and Ireland, and many of the moderns associations with Halloween pour from this festival. Halloween marks the beginning of the darker half of the year and the end of the lighter half. Samhain also became known as the “Festival of the Dead;” it was believed that the boundary between the living and the dead became so delicate that spirits could pass through from one side to another. These blurred lines would allow Celtic priests to make predictions about the future, which was extremely important to the farmers, who were worried about the unknown of the long, dark winter ahead.
Priests built sacred, humungous, bonfires and people gathered there to burn animals and crops as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. Celts were dressed in costumes made of animal skins and heads and told each other’s fortunes. Proceeding the celebration, their hearth fires were lit from the sacred bonfire in order to protect them during the winter.
In order to ward off the harmful spirits, costumes and masks were worn; the more hideous and dangerously you were disguised, the more harmful spirits would begin to leave. However, spirits of friends and family members were welcomed with open arms.
The famous Jack-O-Lantern is believed to come from the legend of “Stingy Jack.” He was a farmer who was known for drinking and gambling; Jack supposedly tricked the devil into climbing a tree and carving a cross into the trunk. Outraged, the devil cursed Stingy Jack to wander the earth during the night with the only light he had, a candle inside a hollow turnip.
When the Romans conquered the Celtic territory in 43 A.D., they brought with them their own traditions. The Feralia was a day in late October when the Romans commemorated the passing of their dead. They also brought with them a day to honor Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees; her symbol was the apple which explains the Halloween tradition of “bobbing” for apples that we do today.
On May 13, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV established the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day. Later, Pope Gregory III expanded the holiday to include all saints as well, and moved the day of observance from May 13 to Nov. 1. A;l Saints Day was also called “All Hallows,” and the night before it began to be called “All Hallow’s Eve” and eventually “Halloween.”