By Daniel S. Holt | October 28, 2026

Every year on October 31 most American kids and their friends celebrate Halloween. They go out house to house to get candy. But do you know where the history of Halloween originated from? Let’s go explore the 2,000-year history of Halloween! 

Over 2,000 years ago, a group called the Celts lived in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The had a festival called Samhain (pronounced Sow-in), which was celebrated on November 1, and considered it their marker for the new year. The Celts believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth for one night, which was on their New Year’s Eve. But they didn’t find the ghosts as enemies; they saw them as friends. The Celts would set extra places at the dinner table, treats at their doorsteps, and candles along the road leading to their houses. They also wore costumes and lit bonfires, which they thought it predicted the future. After the Samhain festival, the Celts would use the fire from the sacred bonfire to light their fireplaces in their houses, because they thought it would protect them during winter. 

Many years later, the Romans invaded the area and Christianity spread through Ireland and Great Britain. By the 9th Century, many Christian traditions had become mixed with the Celtic ones, including Samhain. The Christians called November 1 All Souls’ Day, and it was blended into one day to honor the dead. All Souls’ Day was similar to Samhain. But, the night before, October 31, was called All-Hallows Eve, which eventually became Halloween. When immigrants from the United Kingdom came to America, they brought with them many Halloween traditions. Over time, especially during the 1800s, many of those traditions blended with other holidays and traditions from many other countries. The biggest one still celebrated today in America is spending Halloween night trick-or-treating.

There are three theories of where trick-or-treating came from. The first one which came from the Celts, which I’ve already explained. The second one comes from the Middle Ages, when children and the poor would collect money and food from local homes in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls’ Day, which was the Scottish practice of guising. The third one is actually a German and Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas theory called Belsnickeling, where kids would dress up and go call on their neighbors to see if the adults could guess the identities of their disguises. If the adults guessed wrong, the child would get a treat.

The story of Halloween and everything that goes with it is a long one, but learning about it’s earliest origins is interesting, especially finding out that people have dressed up in disguises for Halloween for over 2,000 years!

Happy Halloween, everyone!