If you’ve ever worn a scary mask, carved a pumpkin, or gone trick-or-treating, you’ve taken part in one of the world’s most curious cultural mashups. But where did Halloween really begin — and why is it still celebrated?
The story goes back more than 2,000 years, to a time long before supermarkets sold plastic skeletons or glow-in-the-dark fangs. In ancient Ireland, people known as the Celts marked the end of summer and the start of the cold, dark months with a festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in). It was believed that on the night of October 31, the boundary between the living and the dead grew thin — and the spirits of the dead could walk among humans.
To scare off these wandering souls, people lit large bonfires and wore animal skins or spooky masks. Crops were offered to the gods. It was a mix of fear, respect, and celebration — a time to honour ancestors but also to stay safe from harmful spirits.
As centuries passed and Christianity spread across Europe, the Church tried to reshape old traditions. November 1 became All Saints’ Day, also called All Hallows’ Day — a day to remember saints and martyrs. The evening before it, October 31, was known as All Hallows’ Eve, which later became... Halloween.
But the old Celtic customs never truly disappeared. They just adapted. People continued to light fires, dress up in strange outfits, and tell ghost stories. In medieval times, it became common for the poor to go “souling” — knocking on doors and offering prayers for the dead in return for food or coins. That might sound a lot like trick-or-treating, doesn’t it?
Halloween as we know it — with candy buckets, jack-o’-lanterns, and haunted houses — really took shape in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Immigrants from Ireland and Scotland brought their traditions with them, including the habit of carving vegetables like turnips. In America, pumpkins were more common and easier to carve, so they became the favourite choice. People believed that a scary face carved into a pumpkin could ward off evil.
Soon, Halloween became a celebration for the whole community. Schools held costume parades. Neighbours gave candy to kids. Homes were decorated with bats, cobwebs, and witches on broomsticks. Horror films and books made the festival even more popular.
Today, Halloween is celebrated in many parts of the world — but often in very different ways. In Mexico, people mark the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with colourful skulls, flowers, and altars. In Japan, there’s the Obon Festival, where lanterns guide ancestors’ spirits home. In India, some people link the ideas of Halloween with Pitru Paksha, a time to honour departed souls.
So, while Halloween may seem like a night of fun and fright, it’s also a fascinating glimpse into human history. It shows how cultures blend, beliefs evolve, and how we never stop telling stories — especially the spooky ones.
The original jack-o’-lanterns were made from turnips
In Ireland and Scotland, people used hollowed-out turnips with coal inside to scare away evil spirits. Pumpkins only became popular after Halloween moved to America.