If you are asked, where is Halloween originally from ? Would you immediately answer USA ? And if you are asked, when did this tradition started ? Would you answer, in the seasson of the witches ? Oh surprise... ERROR !! In this interesting post, you will find out: when, where, how, why, who !!!
Who brought Halloween to USA??
The responsibles of this mistaken association are (besides Hollywood of course) the Irish. In 1845, from the US and Mexico, arrived in Ireland a plague that wiped out 3 consecutive potato crops (base of Irish food) and the lifes of over 2 million and a half people. This event, known as An Gorta Mór, or what is the same, The Great Famine (in Irish) forced another 2 million Irish to emigrate being US one of their favorite destinations.
When did Halloween start??
Although many people believe Halloween was originated with the secularization of the Christian Feast of All Saints, the reality is that the Catholic Church had already adopted this feast from an earlier pagan religion: the Samhain from the Celtic culture.
Where does Halloween come from??
The Celts were a group of people who lived in Europe during the Iron Age with a series of feature in common. The main one was that they spoke languages from the same family. The other shared aspects (historical, religious or cultural) were more changeable from one people to another.
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| Extension of Celtic people on current European map |
Why did the night of October 31 become a feast day??
The Celts divided the year into two, one half light and one dark. What it is precisely celebrated the night of October 31st to November 1st is the beginning of this second part. Samhain (which in Gaelic means "summer's end") was the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the "Celtic New Year" in which the deads could cross the veil and mingle with the living. On the other hand, the Celts were not the only ones celebrating the beginning or ending of the harvest, the Romans were already honoring Pomona, goddess of fruitful abundance, by this time.
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| Pomona, goddess of fruitful abundance by Nicholas Fouché |
So the Catholic Church instead of banning this pagan holiday, what they did was assimilating it. In the year 741 Pope Gregory III changed the Feast of All Saints from May 13 to November 1. Later, Pope Gregory IV commanded the feast to be universally held and to begin its vigil on October 31 in order to prepare it. This evening vigil was directly translated from Latin into English as All Hallow's Eve and at the end the term evolved into what we know nowadays as Halloween.
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| Pope Gregory III |
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| Pope Gregory IV |
How is Halloween celebrated??
From the other side of the Atlantic Ocean Irish customs reach US, like the famous one of emptying a giant pumpkin and putting a candle inside (Jack o 'Lantern) whose origin is the legend of Stingy Jack to scare the devil; the famous Trick or Treat popularized by UNICEF and inspired by the soul cake in Britain and Ireland or Pão de Deus in Portugal; the apples, in this case sweet or caramelized to make them more palatable, and have as a reference the offering to Roman goddess Pamona or dressing up which was already done in the Middle Ages to pass unnoticed among the dead crossing the veil.
An anecdote? US has not just copied from the Celts the celebration of the harvest ending, the beginning as well ... Thanksgiving !!
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