Explore the World's Best Ideas
Join today and uncover 100+ curated journeys from 50+ topics. Unlock access to our mobile app with extensive features.
Halloweenâs origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, in the area that is now Ireland. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each otherâs fortunes.
124
588 reads
82
305 reads
The celebration of Halloween was limited in colonial New England, but as the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups and the American Indians meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, America was flooded with Irish immigrants, fleeing the Irish Potato Famine. This helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally.
65
273 reads
Borrowing from European traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became todayâs âtrick-or-treatâ tradition.
In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and witchcraft.
93
351 reads
73
288 reads
âTrick-or-treatingâ probably dates back to the early All Soulsâ Day parades in England.
During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called âsoul cakesâ in return for their promise to pray for the familyâs dead relatives.
72
307 reads
IDEAS CURATED BY
Learn more about personaldevelopment with this collection
Navigating and enjoying the thrill of horror and scare experiences
Historical knowledge of Halloween and its origins
Understanding and appreciating Halloween traditions worldwide
Related collections
Similar ideas
2 ideas
The Meaning of Halloween
psychologytoday.com
10 ideas
10 Halloween traditions from around the world
trafalgar.com
4 ideas
Halloween: costumes, history, myths, and more
nationalgeographic.com
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
â
100+ Learning Journeys
â
Access to 200,000+ ideas
â
Access to the mobile app
â
Unlimited idea saving
â
â
Unlimited history
â
â
Unlimited listening to ideas
â
â
Downloading & offline access
â
â
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates