Everyone knows the feeling of cool crisp air and the smell of fall. Only one holiday is surrounded by pumpkin spice lattes and the much-loved sweater weather. Halloween, A spooky holiday known by everyone, but how did it come to be?

Halloween is on October 31 and if you were Christian there was two following holidays as a three-day celebration to remember the dead. Halloween was followed by all saint’s day on November 1 and then all soul’s day on November 2. The majority of people now only celebrate Halloween on October 31 and for us Midwesterners we have beggars’ night on October 30 for children to safely trick or treat.

The origins of Halloween date back to around 2,000 years ago in Celtic Ireland. They believed the spirits of the dead returned home on this day so, they would dress up as monsters and other costumes, then would light bonfires to try to ward off spirits. Halloween and Samhain (Pronounced som-win) went hand in hand. Samhain was a pagan religious festival also known as “The Celtic new year”, would welcome the fall harvest and usher in
“The dark half of the year”. During the period of samhain there was a tradition of going door to door to ask for food in exchange for prayers very similar to our modern day trick or treating.

Over in medieval England kids and teens would go door to door and offer either a prayer or a song in exchange for food, they referred to this as ‘souling’. In Scotland and parts of Ireland they had a tradition of kids going around the same way, door to door and go ‘gusing’, by putting on a dance or performance in exchange for a treat. All of these were eventually combined with Christians all souls day to create modern day trick or treating.

By the 1920s we now had Halloween parties as well as Halloween parades. These were quite similar to our parades and parties now but would often be held at the town centers. While there weren’t any Cinderellas or Jokers roaming around at these parties, they went for more classic costumes such as different animals or angels some went as ghosts or other monsters as well. But in the 1950’s with the height of the baby boom, parties from town centers to homes and classrooms to be more accommodating.

During the modern day, Most of the Midwest including Des Moines has now adopted the tradition of beggar’s night. This takes place the day before Halloween
specifically for children to go trick or treating safely.

This was put in place because of the dangers adult Halloween parties and drunk drivers, so how kids like many of us can safely go trick or treating with no worry.