The History of Halloween

this holiday is also known as All
Hallows Eve welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’ll be learning more about
Halloween Halloween is a holiday
observed annually on October 31st though
it is celebrated in some Asian and South
American countries is mostly
commemorated by Western nations
some believe Halloween has pagan origins
it is most commonly linked to the Celtic
Festival of soin which marked the end of
autumn and the harvest season during
this period the people of the Gaelic
world held feasts in honor of the
departed souls that entered our realm
alongside the souls of the deceased it
was believed that various supernatural
beings made their way to us as well but
not all of them were good as such people
started carrying carved turnips and
wearing costumes in a possible attempt
to deter evil spirits other soin customs
included going from home to home to
gather food fuel and offerings for the
festival when the Roman Empire conquered
Celtic territory later on some of
ancient Rome’s religious traditions such
as its festival of the Dead were
incorporated into the celebration of
sewing Halloween has also been
associated with Christianity because of
All Hallows or All Saints Day on
November 1st with All Souls Day falling
on November 2nd this holy period obliged
religious Europeans to observe various
traditions that were in practice as
early as the 12th century for instance
to pray for souls trapped in purgatory
the impoverished went to their
neighbours homes for soul cakes that
were baked for the occasion meanwhile
those trying to hide from potentially
vengeful spirits would dress up this
tradition spread to North America
through Irish and Scottish immigration
in the 19th century it was here that the
pumpkin eventually replaced the turnip
as the jack-o’-lantern other objects
connected with fall like corn husks and
scarecrows were also adopted as
decorations for the home
during Halloween thanks to its
associations with spirits and the world
beyond Halloween has been linked to
paranormal imagery and horror figures
so as trick-or-treating increased in
popularity many traditional Halloween
costumes worn by children became
supernatural in theme these days costume
choices have expanded to include famous
people pop culture characters and more
today instead of traveling to a
neighbor’s home for soul cakes or other
offerings the custom involves a request
for sweets normally reserved for kids
the practice of going door to door is
usually accompanied by participants
asking trick-or-treat when collecting
their candy playing pranks has also been
historically associated with Halloween
adults celebrate by also donning
costumes and attending Halloween parties
other common activities today include
watching horror movies and sharing ghost
tales Halloween is now a lucrative
holiday as costumes candy and horror
films are big business you’ll likely be
able to find a screening of the Rocky
Horror Picture Show to watch but
Halloween attractions like haunted
houses hay rides and more are also
available for Halloween costume and
makeup ideas head to watchmojo.com for
our easy and fun tutorial videos