Unmasking Halloween – a brief history of the haunting holiday

Fun-packed Halloween is a combination of harvest and religious tradition

Photo of a young man with short dark hairm lean-shaven and smiling, in a gray hoody (hood down)

By Tam Bui

Knightly News Reporter

tam.bui@mymail.centralpenn.edu

As the weather turns colder and the leaves shift to shades of crimson and orange, autumn traditions are set to begin.’

Halloween, a holiday deeply associated with spooky imagery and festive customs, often comes to mind first.

Celebrated with activities like dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins, many Halloween traditions can be traced back to ancient Celtic practices.

Photo from Monstera Production on pexels.com. Free-use license.

Origins and history

Halloween’s origins lie in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced “Sah-win”), a pagan celebration marking the harvest. It was believed that during Samhain, the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred, with spirits roaming the earth. To protect their crops from these spirits, the Celts wore costumes and lit bonfires.

In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as All Saints’ Day to honor saints, with the evening before—All Hallows’ Eve—eventually evolving into Halloween.

By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had conquered much of Celtic territory. Roman traditions merged with Samhain, including Feralia, a day for honoring the deceased, and the celebration of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Pomona’s symbol, the apple, may explain the origins of autumn traditions like apple bobbing and candy apples.

Halloween’s start in America

In colonial New England, Halloween celebrations were limited due to strict Protestant beliefs, but the holiday was more common in Maryland and the southern colonies. As European immigrants and Native American traditions blended, a uniquely American version of Halloween emerged. The holiday spread nationally in the late 19th century, driven by the influx of Irish immigrants fleeing the Irish Potato Famine.

History of Halloween traditions

The best-known Halloween tradition—trick-or-treating while dressed in costumes—stems from the early Celtic Samhain celebration. Wearing costumes was believed to protect people from spirits that might harm crops as the weather grew colder. This custom carried over to America, where people would dress up to ask for food or money. The “trick” in “trick or treat” harkens back to the playful mischief associated with Samhain.

Three children in Halloween costumes trick-or-treating.
Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev, from pexels.com. Free-use license.

Carving jack-o’-lanterns is another beloved Halloween tradition, rooted in the Irish legend of Stingy Jack. According to the tale, Jack tricked the Devil multiple times, securing a promise that his soul would never go to Hell. After Jack’s death, neither Heaven nor Hell wanted him, so he was doomed to roam the earth with only a piece of burning coal inside a carved turnip to light his way. This evolved into the custom of carving turnips and eventually pumpkins to ward off evil spirits.

Halloween now

Today, Halloween is synonymous with horror and the supernatural, with zombies, ghosts, vampires and werewolves cultural staples. The holiday has also inspired a wealth of Halloween-themed movies, including the iconic “Halloween” franchise, which debuted in 1978. The film’s silent killer, Michael Myers, has become a pop-culture symbol of the holiday, influencing many horror films that followed.

As Halloween continues to evolve, its roots in ancient Celtic customs and early American adaptations remain at the heart of its celebration. What began as a way to honor the harvest and ward off wandering spirits has transformed into a global holiday embraced by people of all ages.

Today, the traditions of costumes, trick-or-treating and eerie stories blend seamlessly with the influence of pop culture, turning Halloween into a festive mix of history, horror and fun.

No matter how it’s celebrated, the essence of Halloween—a time to confront the mysterious and the macabre—lives on, connecting us with generations past while allowing us to create new traditions for the future.


Comment or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu.

Edited by media-club co-adviser and blog editor Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.