Halloween is thought to be the start of the holiday season. People are aware that Halloween is on October 31st; however they are probably not aware of Halloween’s origin. This is probably due to the fact that there are many views that are associated with Halloween that range from it being a fun holiday in which people dress up in costumes and go to parties and go trick or treating with their friends and family to the belief that Halloween being associated with paganism and the occult. It is also believed by some people that Halloween is the brain child of Satan. However, just like there is a definite history behind the origins of Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims leaving England and sailing to sail to Massachusetts so that they could experience religious and personal freedom so to is there a history behind some Halloween origins. However, it should be noted that some Halloween origins are more believable than others.

History traces Halloween back to the ancient religion of the Celtics. The Celtic people were very aware of the spiritual world and they had their own ideas on how they could gain access to it. Some of their ideas included helping their more than 300 gods to defeat their enemies in battle or by imitating the gods by illustrating cleverness and cunning. The Celtics two major feasts were called Beltane which started at the beginning of summer, May first to be precise and Samhain which took place at the end of the summer, November first to be precise. The Celtics believed that Samhain was a time when the division between the two worlds of the natural and the supernatural became very thin and the supernatural forces were active and the ghosts and other sprits were free to wander around as they wished.

There are even Halloween origins surrounding the beginning trick or treat. Trick or treat is believed to come from a European custom called “souling.” Beggars would go from village to village begging for “soul cakes” made from square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes that the beggars received, the more prayers that they would say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. It was believed that the dead remained in limbo for some time after they died, and that prayer, even by strangers could guarantee a soul’s passage to heaven. In addition, there are Halloween origins as pumpkins. Originally, the Irish came to America they couldn’t locate many turnips to carve into Jack-O’-Lanterns but they did locate a bunch of pumpkins and pumpkins seemed to be a suitable substitute for the turnips. Pumpkins have become an essential part of Halloween celebrations ever since.

Witches and witchcraft are dominant themes of Halloween. Witches generally believe themselves to be followers of an ancient religion which goes back far beyond Christianity and which is correctly called ‘Wicca’ Witches are just one side of the modern revival of Paganism which is the following of a pre Christian nature where people returned to worshipping ancient Norse, Greek, or Celtic Gods and Goddess. Witches and witchcraft are a part of Halloween origins. Now that you have read about some Halloween customs and some Halloween origins, you might wish to ask yourself if Halloween is just another innocent holiday that doesn’t harm anyone and is just childish fun.