Page 18 - 367700 LP248929 In and Around Magazine 52pp A5 (October 2022)

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Celebrating Halloween:
how we did it through the ages!
We all know that October means one thing...the spooky season is in full swing! This month, we’re exploring the origins of Halloween, finding out how it used to be celebrated and comparing that to our more modern traditions.
It is widely thought that Halloween has roots in Christian beliefs and practices. It is a common Christian custom that the celebration of a major feast day begins at sunset the night before. Of course, the feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls Day we celebrated on the 31st of October.
The first people known to celebrate Halloween in some form were the Celts, over 2,000 years ago. They believed that this was the night where the ghosts of the dead returned to earth, so they dressed up in costumes and light bonfires to ward them off. This is still a practice we use today, but rather than scare off evil spirits, we’re trying to scare our friends and family!
Celebrations of Halloween continued in this fashion for hundreds of years, and started to become modernised once America had been colonised. The first incarnation of Halloween parties were introduced at this time, though they are vastly different from the parties that we know today.
Parties in Colonial America involved telling ghost stories and playing tricks - much like we do today. Upon the arrival of new immigrants in the 19th
century, especially Irish fleeing the Potato Famine, celebrating Halloween was
popularised
Feeling the Halloween fever?
Hocus Pocus 2 now streaming on Disney+...
nationally in America.
Trick or treating became the norm by the late 1800s and by the 1920s, Halloween was a secular holiday that focused on community spirit. Trick-or-treating was one of the most anticipated customs in the neighbourhood.
Looking ahead to the 1970s, Halloween films started to take over cinema screens, including the launch of the Halloween franchise, and various other slasher and horror films.
This is a popular theme even
today, as Hocus Pocus 2 was
released only a week ago!
Halloween continues to be an important part of our yearly tradition, and we can’t wait to celebrate it at the
end of the month!
18 | IN&AROUND