Everyone looks forward to the night where they can dress up as their favorite characters and spend a night out with their friends. The night where they can have parties, take a trip to Panic Point and decorate their homes with witches, scarecrows, and jack-o-lanterns. But from where do all of these Halloween traditions originate, from the trick-or-treating to the costumes? Keep reading to find out the history on the eeriest of holidays, Halloween!

 The ancient origins of Halloween date back to the annual Celtic festival of Samhain, where they celebrated their new year on November 1, which is in modern day Ireland and northern France. The Celts associated the cold winter season with death, and this festival marked the end of the summer and the beginning of the dark and bitter winter months. On October 31 they would celebrate Samhain, which is when they believed that the ghosts of the past returned to earth. The Celts believed that the lingering presence of the spirits allowed the priests to make more accurate predictions on the future. This was pleasing to the people who were focused solely on the natural world as it provided comfort and guidance during a depressing time period. They created bonfires and gathered around it to burn animals and crops to sacrifice to the spirits. They came dressed in costumes that looked like animal heads and prints. Dressing up got them into the “spirit” of their celebrations and allowed them to be comfortable.

 Transferring to a different part of the world, the New England colonies in the recently colonized North America solely rejected Halloween as it was against their strong Protestant beliefs. The holiday then became more popular in the southern colonies as it was brought over from Europe to North America. North America was a big melting pot, filled with different types of people. We had Europeans and Africans who settled in North America during the colonization time period. This allowed for a new and improved version on Halloween to come about. It included a more upbeat and spooky way about it. They had public celebrations that included dancing, singing, and telling scary stories about the dead and ghost stories. By the end of the nineteenth century, Halloween was more popular all around the world as immigrants began to come to America as well as introduce new technology and government that popped up all around the world.

 A big part about Halloween is the fun people of all ages have as they trick-or-treat with their friends. They get to dress up in costumes as their favorite characters and come home to a bucket full of candy. Junior Britt Mobley agrees when he said, “My favorite part about Halloween is seeing all of the costumes. Especially little kids, it is awesome to see the joy because they get to become their favorite character and get a boatload of candy.” Trick-or-treating originated from Irish and English tradition; Americans adopted it and switched it up. Women dressed up and did tricks in order to see if they could find their soulmate. That is how witchcraft and spirits were originally introduced in the Americas.