Halloween has evolved much throughout the centuries, going from the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, to All-Hallows Eve, to the Halloween people know today. Traditions have come, and gone, and changed, and been forgotten.
“A long time ago,” Violet Estrada, freshman, said, “People made Halloween to celebrate the end of Summer and the start of Winter.”
According to an article on history.com, this was during the time Halloween was known as Samhain, the midpoint between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice. It was believed that the spirit world would, at this time, cross over into Earth, so the Celts came up with a solution.
“You were supposed to dress up to scare away ghosts, or evil spirits,” Jack Parker, junior, said.
Eventually, Catholic holidays near the same time as Samhain were merged, these being All-Saint’s day, and All-Soul’s day. The name All-Hallows Eve comes from the night before All-Saint’s day, Oct. 31, coinciding with Samhain.
“The Catholic church wanted to bring in many of the Celtic practices,” Karen Walker, English teacher, said.
From there, traditions grew and changed, and the holiday spread around the world.
“It wasn’t a big deal in the US until the Irish and the Scottish came over, and brought that with them,” Walker said.
It was during the 20th century that the Halloween people see today formed, with scarier costumes moving into something more fun, like movie characters, and the focus on the holiday shifted.
“Halloween is a fun holiday where we pretend, play, and celebrate with friends and family,” Estrada said.
With all of these changes came the loss of some traditions, including one of Walker’s favorites.
“It wasn’t always pumpkins they carved, it was turnips,” Walker said, “I think turnips are better. They’re kind of misformed, they’re kind of odd, they’re kind of weird. I’d go back to the turnips.”
Now that Halloween has changed as much as it has, it may continue to change. Trunk-or-treating has grown in popularity, and more traditions are sure to come as society and cultures change, making it unlikely that old traditions will return.
“I think, right now, things are the way they are because they should be like that,” Jimmy Gutmann, freshman, said.
