Awesome Halloween Customs

Halloween traditions celebrate the return of the dead.

The Halloween holiday was considered taboo during certain eras throughout history; however, some eras stand out for their awesome Halloween customs and traditions. Halloween was sometimes celebrated as a sacred event only, but as the holiday became more secular and community centered, many new customs and traditions began.

Celtic

Halloween originated in ancient Ireland as the celebration of the harvest and the time of year when ghosts of deceased love ones would return to walk the earth. The ancient Celts celebrated the sacred event, called Samhain, by lighting bonfires and sacrificing animals and harvested crops to their deities. As part of the ritual, the ancients lit their hearth fires in their homes with the fires from the sacred bonfire. This symbolic act requested spiritual protection through the cold winter season to come. Ancient people attended the sacred bonfire wearing sacrificed animal skins and heads as costumes. The Celts believed that the ghosts who wandered during Halloween eve aided in prophetic visions of the future, so divination games for fortune-telling were customary.

Colonial Customs

Although banned from most Northern Protestant colonies in America during the Colonial era, Southern regions celebrated Halloween. Southern regions had a mixing of cultures including European groups and Native Americans, and the customs and beliefs of the various ethnic groups began to interconnect. This era was the beginning of some of the customs seen in modern Halloween celebrations. Colonial people gave Halloween parties where they lit bonfires, told ghost stories and made merry with dancing and singing. They celebrated the abundant harvest and began the tradition of making mischief, later known as "mischief night."

Victorian Customs

People in the Victorian era had a fascination with the macabre. Authors such as Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker wrote the horror novels "Frankenstein" and "Dracula," respectively, in the 19th century, and the Victorian people read these as well as haunting ghost stories aloud on Halloween in front of spooky candlelight. People in the late Victorian era made Halloween more of a community event, having parties with less horror and more games that were child-friendly. Entertainment included fortune-telling games for adults to predict future lovers, and scavenger hunts for children. Activities included apple bobbing and the wearing of spooky costumes of supernatural creatures such as skeletons, ghosts and witches.

Modern Era Customs

In the beginning of the modern era, public Halloween events and parties become the norm. By the middle of the 20th century, people celebrated the holiday with trick-or-treating, parades with floats and costumed attendees and home parties. Adults and children took part in the festivities, wearing costumes that are more elaborate in the latter part of the century. Costumes in the latter part of the 20th century were no longer restricted to supernatural creatures, but were synonymous with favorite characters from TV and movies. Many public schools still celebrate Halloween with craft projects, parties and parades.

References

• The Complete Victorian: Halloween Greetings
• Victorian-Era.org: Victorian Era Halloween Costumes
• "Victoriana" Magazine: Halloween History and Halloween Myths