Halloween is a holiday celebrated every 31st of October, this holiday is cherished by people of all ages from all across the globe. Sometimes, people think Halloween is for kids with all the trick-or-treating and costumes. However, adults can celebrate too! Having parties, making Halloween inspired treats, watching horror movies, and maybe even dressing up themselves. In this article I will talk about the history of Halloween, its origins, how people used to celebrate vs. now as well as share some interviews collected from our very own Kearsley students!

The history of this beloved holiday is very interesting, it is very fun to see the origin of this holiday.

However, before we begin it is important to note that each person celebrates a different way, if at all.

So, with that said. What is Halloween?

History Of Halloween

First called, the All Saints’ Day was a celebration in short that was practiced by people lighting bonfires. The bonfire was used for the purpose of warding off spirits. It is said that on Halloween the line between our world and the other world is thin, making it easy for spirits to come visit us. It is also said that the reason for the costumes worn during Halloween were to blend in with the spirits. Halloween was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas, this however originated from the Middle English word “Alholowmesse,” meaning All Saints’ Day. Then finally was named Halloween.

The Celts first celebrated or practiced the holiday around 2,000 years ago, they lived in the place today that we call Ireland. The reason for this holiday, as stated before was to ward off spirits, The Celts believed that the spirits would come back from the dead and ruin their crops. Hence starting the bonfires, these were to not only ward off spirits but also to burn crops and animals as an offering to the spirits in return for the spirits giving them peace and leaving their crops alone.

The Celts would also dress up in the skin of the animal they killed as an offering, and use it as a costume. After this night they would go back to living how they normally would live on a day-to-day basis. It is also important to mention that Halloween was first celebrated on the 1st of November.

The History Of Trick-Or-Treating

Poor people would go to the richer families and receive little desserts called soul cakes in exchange for the person who received the cake would promise to pray for the relatives of the families this practice was known as “souling,” this practice would be used by children who would go from door to door asking for gifts such as food and money. Hence why we do it to this day.

Interviews with Kearsley Students

The question asked was simple: ‘How do you celebrate Halloween?’

The first student I interviewed was sophomore Kallie Mccallum.

Mccallum stated that she spends time with her family on Halloween.

“On Halloween I hang out with family and watch movies,” Mccallum pauses for a moment. “We also go trick-or-treating,”  Mccallum continued.

Gracie Dowell was the second person I interviewed.

Dowell mentioned that herself and her family also spend time together.

“Me and my mom watch Halloween movies and go trick or treating together,” Mccallum stated.

Dowell and Mccallum joked about how similar they were when celebrating the holiday.

Another one of my interviewees was Ajax Prevett.

Prevett explained how they were stepping outside of their usual Halloween festivities and doing something different this year.

“My mom buys me a bag of candy and I eat it through November but this year I am going trick-go-treating with my significant other,” Prevett smiled.

They told me that they have been wanting to go out with their significant other all year and they are excited to finally have fun on Halloween night.

As you can see, there are many interesting origins of Halloween, isn’t it interesting to see how it all began?  There are many ways people can celebrate the beloved holiday! However, trick-or-treating seems to be the most popular way to celebrate. This Halloween make sure that if you or your family plans on going out, be safe! Have an amazing Halloween!