The Halloween festival dates back to the time of the Celts, a people who lived more than 2000, years ago in a region covering Ireland, the United Kingdom and north-western France. Every 1st November, the Celts organised the great festival of Samhain to celebrate the start of the new year. This festival marked the end of the harvaest season with its dark, cold days and the beginning of a new year. This period was therefore associated with death. The Celts believed that on the night before New Year ' s Eve, there was no longer any bondary between the world of the living and the dead, thus opening the way for the spirits of the deceaded to return to earth. To avoid being recognised by ghosts, people dressed up as scary creatures, witches, demons and the undead, in order to blent into the supernatural surroundings. In Ireland and Scotland, the poor went from house to house asking for food in exchange for prayers for the dead.
This is how Halloween became a celebration dedicated to the strange and terrifying.
Halloween spread to America with the mass immigration of Irish and Scottish people in the 19th century, due to the Great Famine (1845–1852 ). They brought the Halloween tradition with them in their suitcases. It includes the myth of Jack-o ' -lantern. Jack, a cuning character who tricked the devil, was condamned to wander the earth forever. The villagers carved turnips to ward off his soul. These grimacing faces were supposed to scare away wendering spirits and keep death at bay.
This celebration has evolved into a popular holiday in the United States, incorporating various cultural traditions. Turnip are not widely grown in America and have been replaced by punpkins, which are more abundant, larger and easier to carve.
With the influx of English and Irish immigrants, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go from house to house asking for money or food. This practice continues today and is called ‘trick or treat ' . This term appeared in North America at the beginning of the 20th century, particularly in Canada in 1917. It became popular in the United States in the 1930s, becoming a festive activity for children on the evening of 31 October. Thus, children in costume knock on doors saying ‘Trick or treat! ' — either you give them sweets, or you risk a little mischievous spell.
Today, dressing up is a way to celebrate the imagination, play with one ' s fears, and participate in a collective celebration. Costumes have become more playful, incorporating fictional characters, monsters, and even celebrities.
Halloween expresses a complex blend of traditions that have spaned centuries and continents.
It has become an ever-evolving celebration, blending memories of ancient rites with contemporary creativity. It reflects our ability to transform ancestral fears into moments of sharing, recreation and celebration. |
