The roots of Halloween lay deep in old Christian traditions. Halloween is separate from the old harvest festivals common in Europe before the arrival of Christianity, but elements of these traditions would continue in celebrations in the British Isles.
Pope Gregory III established All Saints’ Day on November 1 as a day of remembrance in the 730s. From its earliest days, the night of October 31 was marked as the beginning of the observance. All Saints’ Day was considered to be a day to remember the deceased, particularly the saints and martyrs of the church.
The English began referring to All Saints’ Day as Allhallowtide or Hallowmas by 1471. The word came from older, more archaic words “hallow,” which meant “holy” while “tide” meant “time.” On the night before, All Hallow’s Eve, many Roman Catholics at the time would visit cemeteries and pray for the dead. Over time, “All Hallow’s Eve” or “All Hallow’s Evening” was whittled down to “Halloween.”
Elements of trick-or-treating began in the Middle Ages as the poor would go to the wealthy and ask for special treats for the day, soul cakes, in exchange for praying for their deceased loved ones. By the 1800s in Scotland and Ireland, trick-or-treating had evolved into dressing into costumes and going door-to-door for treats and moved away from the religious observance.
In Poland, the tradition for Halloween night has long been that people would pray out loud as they walked through forests in order to comfort the souls of the deceased. In Spain, church bells ring through the night to remind the faithful to pray for the dead. In Eastern Orthodox countries of East Europe, however, prayer vigils are still sometimes held on the night of October 31.
As more Scottish and Irish immigrants moved to the United States, the trick-or-treating tradition came with them. Many American children began making their own costumes for Halloween by the late 1800s.
The term “trick-or-treating” began to appear in the early twentieth century, and the famed Halloween tradition had fully established itself across the nation by the 1920s. Today, various estimates have stated that as many as 40 million American children participate in trick-or-treating each year.
Many other features of Halloween are centuries old. In Ireland, the jack-o-lantern was carved from turnips and carried on All Hallow’s Eve to scare off evil spirits, a tradition dating back centuries. By the time this tradition arrived in the United States by the nineteenth century, the native pumpkin began to be used instead. Bobbing for apples, a popular Halloween game, dates to the 1700s.
Unlike Christmas, Halloween, particularly as it is practiced in the United States, is not as widely celebrated around the world. Many of the traditions observed in America are practiced in Canada, Scotland, and Ireland. Halloween is slowly catching on in Japan and in areas of Germany and India, mostly in the forms of costumes and Halloween parties.
Across Mexico and Latin America, All Saint’s Day and Day of the Dead are celebrated back-to-back on successive days. Observances for the Day of the Dead are preferred, taking place each year on November 2 as many will dress up as the dead on a day to remember friends and family who have passed on. A popular legend on the Day of the Dead in Latin America is that the spirits of the deceased will walk the Earth once more on that night. Schools in Ireland will often close on Halloween while in Mexico, schools will often close on the Day of the Dead.
In modern times, Americans buy upwards of 90 million pounds of candy each year. This amounts to about $3.6 billion. The most popular candy in 2023 was chocolate, according to the National Confectioners Association.
The most popular children’s costume was Spiderman, with an estimated 2.6 million children dressing up as Spiderman in some form. Americans spend more than $8 billion each year on costumes and decorations for the evening’s festivities, according to the National Retail Federation.
Schools and churches regularly sponsor trunk-or-treat events and Halloween parties.
Halloween has been a special part of childhood for generations. With its continued popularity and mountains of candy, it will continue to be a part of American culture for years to come.
