History Behind the Dark Side of Halloween – How it all began

The History behind the Dark Side of Halloween can be traced to the time of the Celts and Pagan traditions, specifically the Celts of Ireland.

The Irish Celts were believers in the spiritual world. To gain entry into this world, they would take the help of their Gods whose favor they won by helping them fight against the evil forces, and often by imitating the Gods and leading evil to their doom through cunning.

Their 2 main festivals were the Beltane in May (beginning of summer) and Samhain in November (end of summer). Samhain was believed to be the time when the Sidh, or barrier between the human and supernatural worlds, would become thin to freely let in ghosts and spirits that would violently interfere with humans and their affairs.

1. During the nights of Samhain, the spirits of the dead were believed to rise from their graves to freely wander the countryside, and return to their families. To appease the spirits, frightened villages would place plates of food and treats at their doorstep. It was also common to disguise oneself with masks and rub black soot on the face to blend with the night in the hope it would protect them against the ghosts.
2. Throughout the months of Samhain, the Druids or Celtic priests would perform rituals to chase the evil spirits away, whose entry into the human world was associated with end of summer. Hence, they would light bonfires, which represented the sun and make animal, crop and sometimes human offerings to the Gods.
3. When the Romans took over majority of the Celt territories in 43AD, Christian customs blended with Pagan traditions. The Roman holiday of Feralia was observed in honor of the dead. The festival of Pomona, The Roman Goddess of trees and fruits and whose symbol is an apple, was also celebrated.

Halloween Came to America in the latter half of the 19th century with the influx of the Irish and Scottish immigrants. When they came to America in 1848, the traditional Celtic observances followed them.

• The Jack O’Lantern, which is the ancient Celt symbol of a cursed soul, was originally carved out of turnips or beets. In America however, the Irish found no turnips to carve and instead used the pumpkin. It was believed that if the demons found something terrifying like themselves, they would run away. Hence carved pumpkins with fiendish faces were left at the doorstep and on village boundaries to frighten away the evil spirits.
• Nocturnal animals like bats and owls were feared by people since they were believed to communicate with the dead at night. Also, during the Middle Ages, black cats symbolized a witch in disguise.
• Trick-or-Treat came from the European custom of ‘souling’. Beggars would gather ‘soul cakes’ from villagers in return for which they promised to say prayers for the dead members of the family.
• Halloween pranks can be traced to the European ‘Mischief Night’ when people were free to masquerade the village in disguise playing pranks on others without fear of punishment.

Many of the other modern day Halloween practices like *collecting treats, ** lighting bonfires, ***’bobbing’ the apple game, etc, can also be traced to the superstitious religious practices of the Irish Celts.