When my kids where younger, they asked why do we give out candy on Halloween? That’s a very good question! It brought up a discussion on the history of Halloween and its origins. Do you know why we do this?

WHY GIVE OUT CANDY ON HALLOWEEN

The roots of this tradition of giving out candy runs back much further than children getting candy from neighbours. Originally known as Samhain, this day celebrated the last day of autumn and prepared the ancient Celtic pagans for the cold and arduous winter months to come.

It used to hold that the day started at sunset and ended the following sunset. Samhain started at sunset October thirty-first and ended sunset November first. It involved a great feast, a parade, a bonfire, and sacrifices to the deities of the Otherworld that no spirits harm their families. It was thought to be that during this time those trapped in the bodies of Animals were released into their next incarnation. The masks and costumes were worn to hide one from vengeful souls. Food (treats) were left on the front doorstep that the vengeful souls may deflect to another house and not cause harm to their families.

ALL SOULS DAY

However, in an attempt to “cover up” any pagan roots of the major Sabbats (pagan holidays) around 800 AD, Pope Boniface IV designated the first as “All Saint’s Day” and the thirty-first as “All Hallows Eve”. 200 years later, the second of November became known as “All Souls Day”, a celebration similar to Samhain. A bonfire, costumes, and parade were celebrated once again. Samhain was sort of revived, except this time the poor of England would beg for food. In an attempt to help the poor, a pastry was created called a “soul cake” and was given to the poor that they might pray for the families dead relatives.

SOUL CAKES

The processing and distribution of these “soul cakes” were highly encouraged by the Church to replace the tradition of leaving food for the new incarnates. This became known as “going-a-souling” and the children highly anticipated going from house to house collecting food, money, and drink. When the English settled in America, obviously the tradition stuck. Even today, children are going from door to door, unknowingly collecting their “soul cakes” and unknowingly are sparking up an ancient pagan tradition.

Know that next time a child comes knocking at your door asking “trick or treat”, you can think “going-a-souling” and take pride that such an ancient tradition made it through over twelve-hundred years of persecution. Also note that all of the “changes” really did not make an impact on many of the original traditions!

Next Halloween, when you’re passing out soul cakes (candy) for prayers, do some reading into what the ancient ways are really all about!

Halloween began as the Celt’s way to celebrate the coming of the new year. The Celts then lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Northern France, and many areas of Eastern Europe. They believed this was a dark time when the dead returned to the earth. You will find below more information on what is the history of Halloween.

THE CELTS

Celts occupied many parts of Eastern Europe, including Greece and Spain. They were a barbaric tribe, who passed down their traditions and origins by mouth. The first written recording of the Celts, appeared around “500 BCE,” according to historian and researcher Leigh T. Denault.

The Celts were a mysterious, barbaric group of people. They were strong fighters, lived in farming villages, and produced high-quality metal work. Like many cultures around them, the Celts worshipped Gods and Goddesses, and other deities, and believed the number three (the triad) to symbolize the “three layered nature of the human soul”.

According to Richard Hooker’s online article, “European Middle Ages: The Celts“, “druids” played a large role in Celtic religious rituals. These “priests” were of a higher class (celts were known to have a class system), and well learned. Druids were responsible for carrying out the “religious rituals” of the Celts.

DRUIDS

There were three specialties “within ancient Druidism”. The “Bards” kept traditions and were trained in “language, grammar, stories”, and a variety of information for 12 years. The “Ovates,” were the healers. The “Druids” and “Druidesses” were well educated, extremely talented, mostly male, and acted as “priests”.

Druids considered the night of October 31st to be the beginning of a new year, “Samhain, the end of warm season”. It was during this time that the spirits of the dead were to Rome the earth, and bonfires were lit to protect the living from the dead.

The holiday of Halloween is said to also be named from the “Druid Lord of Death, Saman”. Most widely known today as, “The Grim Reaper”.

The ancient Celts believed the sun was “loosing strength” due to the coming of the cooler temperatures, and that the “Lord of Death” was over powering the sun god. Since the evil god was overpowering the sun, it is believed he would release the wicked souls back to earth on the night of Halloween. Because of this, sacrifices were made, fires were lit, and Druids would carry out the rituals to appease their “Lord of Death”.

JULIUS CEASAR’S VIEW OF THE CELTIC PEOPLE

Eventually, the Roman empire began to infiltrate into the Celtic culture, and they realized how superstitious a people the Celts were. Julius Ceasar wrote an account of the Druid priests, saying, “All Gallic nations are given too much superstition”. He goes on to explain the sacrifices made by the people in order to appease the Gods.

Even so, the Romans celebrated a festival named “Feralia”, which intended to give rest and peace to the departed.” After conquering a large amount of Celtic territory, these two festivals started to mix together, to give the world the modern day version of “Halloween”.

CHRISTIANITY ENTERS HALLOWEEN

“In the 7th Century”, a new holiday was decided upon to replace both the Celtic and Roman festivals, “All Saints Day”; however, The Catholic Church eventually decided to designate October 31st as “All Soul’s Day”. A day to remember the dead and pray for the ones who are no longer on earth by offering blessings. November 1st was then named, “All Saints Day”, a day to honour those who sacrificed for the church or who were considered saints.

Unfortunately, the church was never able to totally abolish the pagan practices of Halloween, and the two were mixed.

TODAY’S HALLOWEEN

Now, the holiday of Halloween is celebrated as a night to enjoy frights, drinks, crafts, and treats, while dressing up as a favourite character of some sort. Many of the things enjoyed by adults and children today originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Roman festival of Feralia.

So, while celebrating this Halloween night, remember that there is more to the history than just pumpkins, costumes, and trick-or-treats!

What was halloween originally called? The original name for Halloween used to be called Samhain.

What is Samhain?

Halloween on October 31st, or All Hallow’s Eve, used to be known as Samhain, meaning ‘summer’s end’. Some say it was the point the Celts used to mark the end of a year and the start of a new one. Today, the ancient meanings of Halloween have largely been lost as it has become a commercial event.

CELTIC FESTIVAL OF SAMHAIN

The ancient festival of Samhain can be pronounced as SAH-win or SHAH-vin. According to Christan Hummel in The Lost Meaning of Halloween, during this special time, the Celts believed that the normal laws of space and time no longer applied. The veil between worlds was thin, and this meant that members of the family who were now dead could return to celebrate with their loved ones.

Samhain occurs at the opposite point to Beltane, the celebration of spring, on the Celtic calendar, which can be pictured as a wheel. Key to the meaning of Samhain is the concept of the in-between: a time of neither summer nor winter, but a meeting place between. An ideal time for magic because of the blurring of boundaries between Earth and Otherworld.

OFFERINGS TO THE ANCESTORS ON SAMHAIN

According to Rosemary Roberts in Celtic Spirituality: Simple Blessings, Wisdom, and Guidance for Daily Living, during Samhain people shared their good fortune by making offerings of the harvest’s fruit to their ancestors. This custom continues today in Ireland where food is left for the family spirits at Halloween time.

During Samhain, Roberts explains, families would put out all domestic fires and ceremonially rekindle them from the king’s grand fire. These new home fires would then be maintained throughout the following year.

MEANINGS OF THE JACK-O-LANTERN

The word ‘Jack-o-Lantern‘, according to Christan Hummel, came about when the ancient Irish carved out turnips and placed candles inside, to light the way for ‘Jack’, a trickster spirit who was trapped between the two worlds of the dead and the living.

SAMHAIN BECOMES ALL SAINTS DAY

When the Church came into power, it could not sanction a festival for the dead, but turned Samhain into All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd, in honour of the blessed dead. This festival came into being during the 17th Century.

Honouring Samhain, the original name of Halloween, this year is a good way to reconnect with and celebrate the natural cycles of life, which are often lost in our fast-paced modern lives. One way to do this is by lighting candles and meditating on one’s ancestors and what they have passed on.

Do you ever find yourself in the situation where Halloween is fast approaching and you still have not decided how to dress your child or yourself? Or maybe you have decided on the perfect costume, only to find out that there are no more in stock? Whatever the scenario happens to be, the problem is the same. How in the world are you going to pull together a last minute Halloween costume? Here are my top 10 easy last minute Halloween costume ideas!

10 Easy Last Minute Halloween Costumes

Halloween can be a very fun day with dressing up, collecting treats, or by having a kids or adult Halloween party. We all know that when it comes time to shop for Halloween costumes, it can be very time consuming and frustrating as well. Searching for a last minute Halloween costume does not have to feel like a day-long chore. When choosing DIY Halloween costumes just be creative. These homemade last minute Halloween costumes are also easy on the budget.

1. Rock Star

For a DIY Rock Star Halloween costume, you need to find a pair of ripped jeans or a pair of jeans you don’t mind ripping. Add a black t-shirt or one that may be full of crazy colours. Get a guitar as a prop from a friend if you don’t already have one. If you can’t get any, there are ways you can make one out of foam core or cardboard. If you’re not keen on the guitar idea, you can always make a microphone or use a cell phone headset. Don’t forget to do something funky with your hair for this Halloween costume look!

2. Black Cat

A black cat costume is easy and perhaps the most popular quick last minute halloween costume I come across on Halloween night. For a girl or a woman, use a black gymnastics or ballerina outfit with black stockings and shoes. For a boy or a man, use black pants and a black shirt. Draw both cat faces with clown make up. You can twist together some black pipe cleaners for a tail and make or buy cat ears at the dollar store.

3. Ghost

A ghost is the easiest of all DIY Halloween costumes. All you need is an old white bed sheet and a pair of scissors. Drape the sheet over your child or yourself. Use a marker to mark a spot where the eye and nose holes need to be, then mark the length around the bottom that needs to be cut off if the sheet touches the floor. Make sure you or your child won’t trip. Cut the holes and you are done!

4. Angel

Creating an Angel Halloween costume can be accomplished by simply purchasing the wings and halo for a very inexpensive price (between $5 and $10 for both) from your local Halloween or dollar store. If you have a talent in crafts, you could even make these yourself. After these are purchased, your costume is pretty much complete. You simply need to dress in all white (an all white jogging suit or dress, or wrap the body in a white sheet or will due just fine). Add some light make-up that you already have on hand, and there you have your quick, last minute angel costume.

5. Vampire

All that is needed to purchase for a vampire costume is a set of Halloween make-up, which is inexpensive and even on Halloween is very easy to find at any Halloween or drug stores. Theses sets often times haves guides in regards to how the make-up should be applied, many of them also include fake blood. You will then need vampire teeth, which can be found at most dollar stores. If there is one handy, the costume may be completed with a black bed sheet for the cape; however, this is not a necessity. A simple black shirt and pair of black pants can be worn. Which will complete your quick vampire costume.

6. Witch

Making a quick witch costume is very, very simple. The only thing you really need to purchase is the witch hat, some make-up (possible dark green for the face), and a broom made out of straw. If you want a cape, you can purchase a very inexpensive one or you could even use a simple black bed sheet. For the costume, you can wear a black dress.

7. Cow

A cow costume for Halloween is a great idea because it is simple and extremely cheap. You are also likely to already have most of what you need. Clothing wise, you should wear either a white sweat suit or a white long-sleeved shirt and white pants. You’ll also want to wear black shoes. Next, you’ll need some dark brown or black felt or construction paper. Cut out patches or spots that you will then safety pin or glue to your clothing. If you want to add a tail, just cut one leg off of a pair of pantyhose and stuff is with cotton. All that is left is to pin the tail onto your pants. If you want to add a dash of humour, think about going as a chocolate cow or a strawberry cow.

8. Goth

A Goth Halloween costume is not only extremely easy to attain, but also requires only a few things. All you will need black lipstick, black eyeliner, black nail polish, and black clothing. White face paint and black hair spray is optional. All you have to do is dress yourself in all black and then add the face makeup. If you are looking to spice things up a bit, consider adding some fake piercings for the nose and / or lip. If you have light-coloured hair, it would be a good idea to top off the look with black hair spray.

9. Dryer Lint / Static Cling

Dressing up for Halloween as dryer lint or static cling is funny every time. All you need to pull this costume off is a sweater and sweat pants, dryer sheets, cotton balls, and safety pins. Wear your clothing inside out. Now all you need to do is safety pin the dryer sheets and cotton balls all over your clothing. If you want, you could always make your hair very frizzy or messy to add a special touch to this costume idea.

10. Tea Bag

A tea bag Halloween costume is so easy to make! All you do is take a trash bag and cut out leg and arm holes. Next, put yourself inside the trash bag and filled it with leaves. Finally, partially sealed the top of the trash bag with safety pins. After that attach some string and a strip of poster board that says a brand of tea that is popular like Lipton. If you find that you don’t want to fill the trash bag with leaves, you can always substitute them for crumpled up newspaper.

You will love to make one of these DIY Halloween costumes for kids or adults this Halloween! One more fun Halloween costume idea, would be To Make A Hippie Costume! And there you have it, 10 easy last minute Halloween costumes to wear on Halloween night.