That’s right everyone, it’s time for Halloween! Or, if you prefer, All Hallows Eve . It’s time to get our spookiness on and prepare for one of the most anticipated holidays. What better way to get your spookiness on than by learning about the holiday itself! Time to get spooky!

Before the notorious holiday became ‘Halloween,’ and way before it was considered a holiday, Halloween was a celebration of the Celtic New Year officially known as Samhain. This Celtic New Year marked the end of summer harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter; a time of year that was often associated with human death. In addition to this celebration, people also danced around fires in hopes of warding off evil spirits and welcoming friendly spirits. Along with the performance of perform these rituals, they also donned what we now call ‘costumes’ or garments that would ward off evil spirits. Crops and other foods were burned or left outside of homes as an offering to spirits passing through. The rituals were all done out of superstition and out of hope that they would have good luck and not a harsh winter. This practice went into effect for hundreds of years, guiding the people.

Through time, this tradition was turned into what we call Halloween today. Weird, right? We used this holiday originally to ward off spirits and welcome loved ones who passed on, instead of scaring people and trick or treating for candy like we do today. Despite this drastic change, Halloween is still one fun holiday. It’s a time for everyone of all ages to get together to scare people, trick-or-treat for candy, to watch horror movies, and more importantly, to just have fun. So this upcoming Halloween, remember to have fun and be safe!

Happy Halloween!