The origins of Halloween

A Quick Guide to the Origin and History of Halloween
What we know (and don't really know) about the origin of All Hallows Eve

Halloween is a secular holiday combining vestiges of traditional harvest festival celebrations with customs more peculiar to the occasion such as costume wearing, trick-or-treating, pranksterism and decorative imagery based on the changing of the seasons, death, and the supernatural.

Halloween takes place on October 31.

Though it was regarded up until the last few decades of the 20th century as primarily a children's holiday, in more recent years activities such as costume parties, themed decorations, and even trick-or-treating have grown increasingly popular with adults as well, making Halloween a celebration for all ages.

WHAT DOES THE NAME "HALLOWEEN" MEAN?

The name Halloween (originally spelled Hallowe'en) is a contraction of All Hallows Even, meaning the day before All Hallows Day (better known today as All Saints Day), a Catholic holiday commemorating Christian saints and martyrs observed since the early Middle Ages on November 1. Read more...

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