The history of Halloween stretches far beyond the advent of trick or treating to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival in medieval Ireland. About 1,500 years ago, the Pope put in his two cents worth with all of Saints Day, a Catholic holiday meant to undermine the Celt’s Pagan practices. Trick or treat owes a great deal of its substance to the Pagans and the Pope, not to mention the marketing campaigns of U.S. candy manufacturers.
Holidays the way the Pagans did it
The history of Halloween begins with the Celts. Farmers would honor the sun with the festival, Samhain, at the end of summer in order for the sun to come back in the spring. The farmers were the Celts. They thought that the living and dead worlds were getting closer when the days got shorter and plants went dormant. Samhain had been held Oct. 31. The Celts built bonfires in memory of the dead, wore costumes and left food and drink outside overnight for ghosts. The children were in charge of luring the spirits. They did this by finding a hollowed out vegetable, they cut scary faces, and then candles would be put in them. Smashing bottles and vegetables at the neighbors is what the kids would also do.
The Pope talks about All Hallows Even
November 1 had been announced as All Saints Day by Pope Gregory III which is where the more modern Halloween comes from. The Celtic Pagans were happy to go along, however they refused to give up Samhain and their celebration of the dead. Celts were allowed to party still as long as it was in honor of saints, said the Pope. Going “a-souling” was what many started doing, which had been where people went door to door asking for food and drink in exchange for a pray for dead relatives. All Saints Day became known as All Hallows. Hallowe’en originated from All Hallows’ Even. This was the very same night as Samhain, or the night before.
Trick or treat added to it
Hallowe’en came to The United States with the influx of Irish immigrants within the 19th century. The whole U.S. didn’t start trick or treating until the late 1940s. This had been because Halloween trick or treating had been simply extortion in the 1920s and ’30s. Halloween became an opportunity for candy companies within the 1950s that they just couldn’t pass up. The National Confectioners Association explains that candy sales for Halloween are ridiculous. In fact, this year, over $2 billion could be sold for Halloween. The average American family will spend $20.29 on Halloween candy.
Articles cited
UP Post
ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php?option=com_content and amp;task=view and amp;id=5468 and amp;Itemid=45
Stars on Top
starsontop.com/2010/10/the-haunted-history-of-halloween/
CNN
eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/10/20/candy-sales-king-sized-this-halloween/
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
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