The Fascinating History of Halloween and How Exactly the Holiday Began

Most scholars agree that Halloween as we know it originated some 2,000 years ago, when Celtic people in Europe celebrated the end of the harvest and the start of a new year in a festival called Samhain (pronounced "sow-win"). People also believed they could commune with the dead more easily during that time, lighting big bonfires to ward off spirits, according to The American Folklife Center.

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The Celts also believed that the spiritual communication on Samhain made it easier for Celtic priests, or druids, to predict the future, according to History. To appease the deities, they built bonfires and sacrificed crops and animals. Villagers also attended the bonfire ceremonies wearing animal heads and skins as costumes.

Nowadays, many of us associate bats with Halloween — and that has its historical roots, too. The Druids' Samhain bonfires attracted bugs which, in turn, tempted bats to come enjoy a tasty meal. In later years, various folklore emerged citing bats as harbingers of death or doom. In Nova Scotian mythology, a bat settling in a house means a man in the family will die. If it flies around and tries to escape, a woman in the family will perish instead.

The Romans conquered most Celtic territory by 43 A.D. and brought their own fall festivals with them at that time, according to History. Their October celebration called Feralia also commemorated the passing of the dead. Another holiday, Pomona, honored the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. That's one reason people often bob for apples during Halloween festivities.

Fast forward a few centuries, and the festivals that would become Halloween evolved. Several Christian popes attempted to replace "pagan" holidays like Samhain with their own religious observances. By 1000 A.D., All Souls' Day on November 2 served as a time for the living to pray for the souls of the dead. All Saints' Day, or All Hallows, honored the saints on November 1. That made October 31 All Hallows Eve, which later became Halloween.

Despite the new religious focus, people in Old England and Ireland continued to associate the end of October with the wandering dead. They set out gifts of food to mollify hungry spirits, and as time wore on, people began dressing in creepy costumes to go begging for the treats themselves. The practice was called "mumming," and looked pretty similar to today's trick-or-treating.

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The first Halloween-like festivities in America started in the southern colonies. People began to celebrate the harvest, swap ghost stories and even tell each other's fortunes, likely a holdover from their countries of origin. However, those early fall festivals were known as "play parties" at the time.

In the 1700s and 1800s, women performed rituals on Halloween in hopes of finding a husband. Single ladies used to throw apple peels over their shoulders, hoping to see their future husband’s initials in the shapes where they fell. They also competitively bobbed for apples at parties, believing the winner would marry first. And in a ritual that just sounds downright creepy, some thought standing in a dark room with a candle in front of a mirror would make their future husband's face appear in the glass. Blood Mary, anyone?

The holiday we celebrate today really started taking off in the middle of the 19th century, when a wave of Irish immigrants left their country during the potato famine. The newcomers brought their own superstitions and customs to their new homes, including the jack-o'-lantern. But back then, they carved them out of turnips, potatoes and beets instead of pumpkins.

By the end of the 1800s, more communities were partaking in a more secular (and safer) set of rituals. People started holding Halloween parties that included more harmless games, fall seasonal treats and fun costumes over witchcraft and mischievous troublemaking.

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Trick-or-treating skyrocketed in popularity by the 1950s, when Halloween became a true national event. Today, over 179 million Americans celebrate the holiday — and spend about $9.1 billion annually in the process, according to the National Retail Federation. That's a lot of miniature candy bars!

Many Americans love Halloween wholeheartedly, but the day isn't a federal holiday. Despite all of the festivities that happen in the evening, Halloween is still a work day and most businesses and banks follow their regular hours. So if you're rushing home to answer your doorbell, you're certainly not the only one.