One of the most popular holidays in
America is Halloween, celebrated each October
31st The word ³Halloween´ is a shortening of
³All Hallows¶ Eve,´ meaning the day before All
Hallow¶s Day (also known as All Saints¶ Day),
a traditional Catholic Holiday.
Although the origin of the word Halloween
is Christian, the holiday is commonly thought to
have Pagan beginnings. Most historians believe
the holiday roots come from in the ancient
Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced
³VDK-win´). Samhain is an old Gaelic term for
³summer¶s end´DQGwas a celebration of the
end of the harvest season. In ancient Ireland,
Samhain was a time used to prepare for winter. It was believed that on October 31, the door to the Otherworld
opened enough for the souls of the dead, and other beings such as fairies, to come into our world. Masks and
costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.
As Christianity spread to Ireland, older traditions such as ³Souling´, the custom of baking and sharing of
soul cakes has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating. Groups of poor people, often children, would go
door-to-door on All Saints¶ Day collecting soul cakes, as a means of praying for souls in purgatory. Shakespeare
even mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona , when Speed accuses his master of
whining ³like a beggar at Hallowmas.´
All Hallows¶ Eve also provided one last chance for the dead to gain
vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. To avoid
being recognized by any soul that might seek such vengeance, people
would wear masks or costumes to disguise their identities. Carved pumpkin
jack-o¶-lanterns were believed to represent Christian souls trapped in
purgatory. Over time these Christian and Pagan traditions merged to
become many of the traditional Halloween practices we know today.
However, it took a long time for them to become mainstream in America.
The Puritans of New England, for example, maintained strong
opposition to Halloween. North American almanacs of the late 18th and
early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was celebrated. It
was not until the mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the 19th
century that it was widespread. At first, Halloween was confined to the
immigrant communities until it gradually assimilated into mainstream
society by the first decade of the 20th century.
The earliest known reference to trick-or-treating on Halloween in
North America occurs in 1911, when a newspaper in Ontario, Canada near
the border of upstate New York, reported that it was normal for the smaller
children to go street caroling on Halloween between 6 and 7 p.m., visiting
shops and neighbors to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. Postcards were
popular to send for Halloween around this time, but it wasn¶t until the 1930s, when the earliest known
uses of the term ³Wrick or treat´ began appearing in 1934, and the first use in a national publication
occurring in 1939. Trick-or-treating spread from the western United States eastward, stalled by
sugar rationing that began in April 1942 during World War II and did not end until June 1947.
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