The Ancient Origins of Halloween: The Story of Samhain

Every year on October 31, children put on costumes, go trick-or-treating, and carve smiling faces into orange pumpkins. Halloween is full of fun, candy, and spooky decorations. But did you know that this popular holiday began more than 2,000 years ago? The roots of Halloween trace back to an ancient festival called Samhain (pronounced SAH-win), which was celebrated by a group of people known as the Celts.

The Celts lived long ago in the regions that are now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France. For the Celts, the calendar year did not end on December 31. Instead, their new year began on November 1. This date marked the official end of the summer harvest and the beginning of a cold, dark winter. On the night before the new year, October 31, the Celts celebrated Samhain to mark this major transition between the seasons.

During Samhain, the Celts believed that the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead grew thin. They thought that ghosts of the deceased could return to Earth for a single night. To protect themselves from unwanted spirits, community members gathered to build giant bonfires on hilltops. They also wore costumes made of animal skins so that wandering spirits would mistake them for fellow ghosts and leave them alone.