History of Halloween: The Ancient Samhain Legacy

Each year, Halloween brings a mix of excitement and mystery as streets fill with costumes, lanterns, and festive gatherings. Beneath the surface of this lively night lies a past shaped by ancient festivals, shifting beliefs, and traditions that carried meaning across generations. In this article, the history of Halloween is explored through the Samhain origins and the cultural legacy it left behind.

The origins of Halloween begin in the ancient Samhain festival, a key event in the Ancient Celtic calendar that marked the end of the harvest and the approach of winter. The Celtic history of Halloween reveals that people believed the barrier between the living and spirit worlds became thin, prompting rituals for protection, divination, and remembrance of ancestors. Archaeology and medieval texts both point to deep roots for seasonal rites in Ireland and western Britain, showing that the practices which later fed into Halloween have long cultural origins.

• Medieval textual attestations: Old Irish texts from about the 9th century CE onward refer to Samhain explicitly, describing assemblies, feasting, and supernatural beliefs associated with that time of year — providing the documentary link between ancient seasonal practice and later folk tradition.

• Divination and offerings: Folk practices recorded in later sources include apple-based games, nut-divination, and leaving food for the dead or for vulnerable neighbours. These rituals reflect a focus on fate and survival across the uncertain months ahead.

• 609 CE (or 610 CE) — Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to “St. Mary and all the Martyrs” and established an annual commemoration on May 13, an early form of All Saints’ observance.

• 8th century (731–741 CE) — Sources attribute to Pope Gregory III the dedication of a chapel to all saints on November 1, beginning a Roman observance on that date; by the early 9th century, the Nov 1 date appears in British and continental calendars.

• c. 835–839 CE — Pope Gregory IV and the Carolingian court confirmed and promoted November 1 as the feast of All Saints across the Frankish Empire, which helped standardize the date in western Christendom.

• Late 10th–11th century — St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1049) instituted All Souls’ Day on November 2 for praying for the faithful departed; this paired with All Saints’ Day to create a three-day focus on death and remembrance (Oct 31–Nov 2).

As Christianity spread across Europe during the Middle Ages, many local customs around All Hallows’ Eve absorbed and transformed older folk traditions. By the 15th-16th centuries, practices known as souling and guising became common in England, Scotland, and Ireland. These rituals show how medieval society blended Christian belief in saints and souls with older ideas of community, hospitality, and remembrance.

• Souling: Poor or needy people would travel from house to house on All Hallows’ Eve (October 31) and All Souls’ Day (November 2), singing verses and offering prayers in exchange for soul cakes. This custom is recorded in parts of Britain and western Europe. For example, in England, the practice persisted until the 1930s in some places.

• Danse Macabre and symbolic performances: Medieval Europe saw artistic and performative expressions of death, such as the Danse Macabre motif, pageants, and plays during Hallowtide (October 31-November 2). These public displays emphasized remembrance of the dead and moral reflection, reinforcing the themes of mortality and spiritual intercession.

Large-scale Irish and Scottish migration in the mid-19th century brought Samhain-related customs to North America, where they blended with local harvest celebrations and gradually shaped Halloween in America. The Great Irish Famine (c. 1845–1852) triggered a mass exodus: historians estimate that up to two million people emigrated during the famine years, many of them to the United States and Canada. This influx introduced customs such as door-to-door visiting, carved root-vegetable lanterns, and costumed mumming.

• Mid-1800s (1840s–1850s): Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Samhain practices (turnip lanterns, disguises, mumming) across the Atlantic; these practices adapted to new environments and available crops. Pumpkins, native to North America and easier to carve, replaced turnips and became the standard canvas for jack-o’-lanterns by the late 19th century.

• Early mentions (1830s–1870s): Use of carved vegetables as seasonal lanterns appears in North American print from the 1830s, and by the 1860s, the carved pumpkin is attested in Canadian and U.S. newspapers.

• Late 19th century parties & harvest festivities: In many American communities, Halloween was first celebrated not as “trick-or-treat,” but through “play parties,” festivals celebrating autumn with music, food, costume dress-ups for adults, and storytelling.

• Early 20th century emergence of “trick-or-treat”:The term “trick-or-treat” appeared in print in the U.S. in the 1920s, and by the 1930s and 1940s, the custom had begun to spread widely. Post-World War II suburbanization, the availability of candy, and media helped transform Halloween into a major commercial and family-centered holiday.

Across the world, Halloween and related traditions take on unique forms, blending local culture, belief systems, and earlier rituals. Below are key regional variations and living traditions that show how Halloween’s legacy adapts in different contexts.

In Brazil, there is growing resistance to the imported Halloween tradition via an initiative called Saci Day (Dia do Saci), established in 2004 (in São Paulo state and several municipalities). Saci Day promotes the folklore of the Saci-pererê, a figure from Brazilian and Indigenous tradition, as a cultural counterpoint to Halloween’s growing commercial presence.

Neo-Pagan and Wiccan communities around the world continue to celebrate Samhain as a spiritual festival. Observances often include rituals at dawn or sunset, bonfires, nature walks, honoring ancestors, and reflection on seasonal transitions. These living traditions help preserve the connection between Halloween and its Celtic origins in a modern spiritual context.

Looking at the history of Halloween shows how a seasonal festival evolved into one of the most recognized traditions worldwide. Each period added layers of meaning, and each community shaped it in unique ways. Today, Halloween continues to carry echoes of its origins, reminding us that behind the costumes and festivities lies a story of culture, belief, and continuity.