As Halloween approaches, students at Blackman High School bring the spirit of the season home through trick-or-treating, watching scary movies, and going to church to make Oct. 31st uniquely their own.
The History of Halloween
Halloween started through the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. 2,000 years ago, the area of now Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France would celebrate their new year on Nov. 1st, so Oct. 31st would be equivalent to our New Years Eve.
The Celts believed that during this time the boundary between the realm of the living and dead would blur, which is what sparked much of the ghosts, skeletons, and demon imagery for Halloween. The dead were thought to cause problems through destruction of crops and tricks. On All Saints’ Day people will dress up as saints, angels and demons, inspiring dressing up for Halloween. The people who would dress up were mostly children. All Saints’ Day was also called All-Hallows or All-Hallowmas, which then became All-Hallows Eve and then Halloween.
Halloween was not celebrated much in Colonial New England but was widely celebrated in Maryland. Because of the rigid Protestant beliefs in the colonial New England, Halloween started to earn the reputation of being evil or related to witchcraft and devil worship due to the Celts believing that the dead could roam around during the holiday. Many adults later on would throw parties and lean into the spookiness of the holiday, though it was a lot more frightening than it is today.
Because of the modern lean into Halloween being more about children dressing up and going trick-or-treating, newspapers and community leaders encouraged parents and party throwers to take anything frightening or grotesque out of their Halloween celebrations. Some adults still lean into the horror aspect of the holiday, but parties with children do not.
Traditions
Many people have different traditions for Halloween. Some go trick-or-treating with friends or family, some stay home and watch scary movies, others go to church and some even ignore the holiday all together.
Junior Marley Parreco says, “If I’m not scheduled to work, I enjoy trick or treating with my sister or friends.”
“I watch scary movies with my family,” said junior Maria Sawiros. “This year, I’m going to church and hanging out with my friends.”
Now
Today, Halloween is a holiday about fun for everyone. Halloween can be a spooky holiday, or a holiday about dressing up for candy. Everyone can put their own twist to it to suit their own versions of enjoyment.
