Before you put on your scariest or funniest Halloween costume this year to attend the most hot-as-hell, so to speak, Halloween parties in town, let’s backtrack a little bit and get to know how and why a night that trains a spotlight on ghosts and other otherworldly characters become part of the Western culture, including, of late, ours.
Halloween’s origins
Halloween, which is celebrated annually on October 31, can be traced back to during the time of the ancient Celtic Festival of Samhain. According to history.com, the Celts believed that on the night before November 1, when they celebrated their version of new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. So, the Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these supposedly ghastly creatures.
Meanwhile, in the eight century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Over time, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. Fast forward to today, Halloween has evolved into activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, donning costumes, festive gatherings and eating sweet treats.
Trick-or-treat
Coming from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to make their own version of Halloween by dressing up in costumes and going house-to-house asking for food or money, an activity that eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition.
In the late 1800s, American parents were encouraged to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the 20th century.
Since then, Halloween evolved from a scary day of the year into one of the most anticipated holidays in which people can celebrate by putting scary as well as fantasy costumes with family and friends. Like everything American, the practice was adopted much later by Filipinos, when children in exclusive villages started trick-or-treating in the mid ’90s. Sensing a marketing windfall, it didn’t take long for business establishments in the Philippines, from malls to restaurants, bookstores to bars, to join the fun and capitalize on the American-made holiday.
So, have you gotten your ghastliest or craziest costume picked out already for tonight’s parties?
