History of Samhain (Halloween)

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The origins of Halloween date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sah-win).

2000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France the New Year was celebrated on November 1. It was a day that marked the end of Summer and the beginning of the dark cold Winter months.

It was the belief of the Celts that on the night prior to the New Year the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred and the dead were free to walk the earth again. To the Celts this was a night to both fear and celebrate. When the dead visited they tended to cause trouble and damage crops, but they also inspired the Druids (Celtic priests) so predictions for the future could be made.

In order to appease the dead so that they wouldn’t cause trouble yet would continue to inspire the Druids Samhain was celebrated. At night sacred bonfires were built where crops and animals were sacrificed to the Celtic deities. Costumes were worn during the celebration in an attempt to blend in with the dead. When the celebration was over every family re-lit their hearth fire with a spark from the sacred bonfire that they had brought back.

By the year 43 A.D. the majority of the Celtic territories had been conquered by Rome. In the course of the four hundred years they ruled the Celtic lands they combined two of their festivals with Samhain.

The first of these holidays was Feralia. On this day the Romans would commemorate the passing of the dead. The second didn’t have an official title but it was a day dedicated to honouring Pomona the Goddess of fruit and trees. Because her symbol is the apple this combination of holidays began the tradition of bobbing for apples.

The influence of Christianity had spread to the Celtic lands by the 800s. In the 7th century Pope Boniface IV, in an attempt to replace the existing festival of the dead with a church sanctioned holiday, designated Nov 1 to be All Saints Day (a day dedicated to honouring saints and martyrs) and Oct 31 All Saint’s Eve or Halloween.

Interestingly, the church kept the bulk of the traditions of the other holidays. The only two traditions that it absolutely would not consider was sacrifice and divination.