Every year at the end of October, we have little kids and adults dressing up as ghostly creatures.  But what do we know about this tradition and where did it come from?

Ancient Halloween

Halloween came to be around the time of Jesus Christ (2000 years ago).   There was a group of people called the Celts that lived in present day Ireland, Britain and parts of France. Originally the Celtic people celebrated November 1st as New years day and believed that the night before new years (October 31st) was when the dead reunited and roamed the streets.

During the middle ages a Christian church named November 1st All Saints Day or All Hallows. This day was holy to honor those saints and people who died for what they believed in, in Mexico El Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated because of this.  The night before All Hallows was called Hallows Eve which eventually became to what we know now as Halloween.

The Celtic people believed spirits of the dead roamed the streets on Halloween and that the spirits would hurt them so what they started doing is dressing up as spirits and other evil creatures. They believed if they looked like the dead the spirits would not hurt them.

Turnip Lantern used in Europe

Then the first European settlers landed in America and they brought their traditions.  With time some of those traditions changed, Europeans used lanterns made from turnips as where in America people started using pumpkins as lanterns and would stick candles inside them and this is where we got our first Jack O’ Lanterns.

We don’t normally consider Halloween to be a religious holiday, after all we think about our children having fun and dressing up as their favorite comic book super hero or the latest Disney character out there.  Some religious fanatics say Halloween should not be celebrated because it is the work of the devil, but I’ll take my chances.

Be safe out there guys and remember to say Trick or Treat !