Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, finds its origins more than 2,000 years back in the Celtic festival of Samhain, when ancient Gaels marked the end of the harvest and believed the veil between the living and the dead was thinnest. Roaring bonfires, costumes to confuse spirits, and feasts to protect the community were central to this liminal night.
As Christianity spread across Europe, the church sought to integrate and supplant pagan practices. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III moved the feast of All Saints’ Day to November 1, making October 31 “All Hallows’ Eve,” later shortened to Halloween.
Over centuries, traditions merged: “souling” and “guising” evolved into today’s trick-or-treating; the carving of turnips in Ireland became the pumpkin lantern in America. By the mid-20th century in the U.S., Halloween transformed into a mass cultural event featuring costumes, neighbourhood festivals and candy.
Today, Halloween blends its eerie ancestral roots with fun and commerce - a festival at the crossroads of harvest, remembrance and vibrant spectacle.
