The Celtic and Pagan History of Halloween (videos)

Halloween Glitter Graphics

While Halloween is known in the United States as a generally harmless holiday that focuses on fun and scary costumes and getting plenty of candy, the origins of
Halloween are not exactly kid-friendly.

Halloween is celebrated in the U.S. on October 31, and is known as All Saints Day in the Catholic church. Though known as a Christian holiday, Halloween's origins are Celtic, pagan and druid and date back to nearly 3,000 years ago. The celebrations and traditions associated with the Celtic practices of Halloween vary greatly from the holiday celebrated today.

To understand the origins and history of Halloween, one must examine the original Celtic practices and traditions. To begin, Halloween was originally referred to as Samhain. The Celtic people lived in what is now Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Samhain was a pre-Christian holiday or festival that celebrated the day of the dead, the beginning of winter, and the dawn of darkness. It was believed that ghosts or spirits would walk freely during this time, as summer was over and winter would bring darker, colder days. Samhain was also a time to mark or celebrate the harvest and end of summer. Samhain was held from sundown October 31 until the end of November 1.

As the pagans believed the souls of the dead would roam the earth during Samhain, they would perform many rituals to protect themselves and their families from them. The Celtic religion was known as Druidism and there were a variety of gods, goddesses or deities the Druids worshiped. Some practices used to keep evil spirits away included human and animal sacrifice, burning the bodies of enemies in bonfires (also known as bone fires), offering food and drink to the dead spirits to appease them, and wearing costumes and masks so that the ghosts wouldn't know a person's identity.

It's important to note that Samhain was a festival and not a god. While the Druids did have many gods and goddesses, and Samhain was a man who lived, Samhain is a festival and not a god. Learn more about Samhain and Halloween's Celtic roots here.

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 As the Roman empire and Catholicism grew and spread, the Pope would adapt local customs and traditions to make them compatible with Christian theology. The Samhain festival was adapted to fit Catholicism by adjusting the practices of All Hallows Eve. As All Hallows Eve was a time to honor the dead saints in Christ, it was fitting that newly pagan converts could ease from Samhain festivals to celebrating All Hallows Eve. Later, the Roman church called All Hallows Eve Halloween. Learn about All Saints' Day here.