3 minute read
A HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN
by yokotafss
18 HORIZONS OCTOBER 2022
The spookiest season has come to Yokota, and there’s no shortage of FSS events to kick off the fall festivities! The House of Torment, Halloween Booo-ling and the Spooky Halloween run are just a few of the celebrations, but why do we celebrate Halloween in the first place? The history of Halloween is a web woven of numerous cultures. Its early beginnings are found in Celtic culture over 2,000 years ago, and the more recent traditions of trick-or-treating didn’t first appear until the 1940s and 50s. The origins of Halloween span centuries and have morphed the holiday into a cultural phenom that generates over $10 billion annually. So what exactly is Halloween, and why do we spend October 31st in costumes?
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Though the specific nature of the event still eludes us, we know that the Celtic people held the festival of Samhain (pronounced sah-win). Roughly translated to “summer’s end,” Samhain was a sort of New Year’s celebration that was honored on November 1, marking the end of the harvest season. The community took this time to prepare for the winter, when the relentless, harsh and cold weather was often associated with death. It was believed that on October 31, the ghosts of the dead would revisit earth. The Celts expected these unruly ghosts to interfere with and damage their crops, and it was thought that their presence gave Druids (Celtic priests) a strengthened psychic ability. Traditionally, the Druids would create bonfires to honor Samhain and the Celts would dress up in animal heads and skins. These practices were thought to protect them throughout the winter, which was important to a civilization that was entirely dependent on the unpredictable weather and world around them.
Eventually, the Celts were conquered by the Romans. During their 400-year rule, they also established their own festivals that bled into the traditions of Samhain. Feralia was a day in late October to respect the passing of the dead, and they also had a day of Pomona, which honored the goddess of fruit and trees. It is suspected that this is where we got the Halloween tradition of bobbing for apples. Eventually, Christianity made its way into the Roman-ruled Celtic lands and with it, the holiday of All Saints’ Day, or All-Hallows. All-Hallows, like Samhain and Feralia, honored the dead, specifically the deaths of martyrs and saints. Similarly to the Samhain traditions, All Saints’ Day was celebrated with bonfires and costumes, and participants would don the dress of angels and devils. The night before the festivities began was called All-Hallows Eve, which then turned into the name Halloween.
Halloween trickled into America along with the Pilgrims, though the strict Protestant beliefs meant that it was primarily celebrated in Maryland and the southern colonies. European traditions mixed with Native American customs and a uniquely American Halloween emerged. The first Halloween festivities included parties to celebrate the harvest, ghost stories and dancing. In the late 19th century, millions of Irish immigrants fled the Irish Potato Famine and entered the United States, and the influx of the Irish culture widely popularized Halloween.
As the holiday became customary in the United States, Americans began to participate in European traditions, dressing up in costumes and visiting houses to ask for food or money, which turned into what is now known as trick-or-treating. Over time, ghosts, ghouls and goblins have permeated the holiday, with folklore and superstition giving way to various modern traditions. What began thousands of years ago as a Celtic festival is now an American cultural giant, generating billions of dollars in revenue for costume and candy companies. One quarter of all candy sold in the United States is sold at Halloween, and the pet costume industry has rocketed to an all-time high, with Americans spending $490 million on pet costumes alone. It may be a far cry from Samhain, but the spirit of the holiday has held fast throughout the centuries.
It’s estimated that 65% of Americans will participate in Halloween this year. If you’re looking for a way to join the festivities, the FSS has you covered. Check out the full list of FSS events on page 17, and we look forward to seeing your scariest, spookiest costumes!
19HORIZONS OCTOBER 2022