Samhain, All Hallows and where Halloween came from
A Celtic festival at the end of summer, three Christian days for the dead, and an argument about how they met.
How this site works. Every fact is in our own words and linked to its source, beside it. The pictures are our own drawings. Where good sources disagree, we say so.
The name
The name comes from All Hallows’ Eve: the evening before All Hallows’, or All Saints’, Day. Britannica
Halloween falls every year on 31 October. It has pagan origins, Christian roots and plenty of non-religious traditions. Britannica
Allhallowtide
Halloween starts Allhallowtide, three Christian days for remembering the dead: All Hallows’ Eve (31 October), All Saints’ Day (1 November) and All Souls’ Day (2 November). Britannica
Samhain
Samhain was a festival in ancient Celtic religion that marked the end of summer and the start of winter. Britannica, Samhain Samhain has been celebrated on 31 October or on 1 November. Britannica, Samhain
In ancient Ireland, Samhain was a time of gathering in for the winter, the opposite bookend to Beltane on 1 May, which began the summer. Britannica, Samhain
The Samhain day, roughly 1 November on our calendar, was believed to begin the new year: winter, when livestock came in from pasture. Britannica
An Irish tale, the Tochmarc Emire, treats Samhain as a New Year festival, but it isn’t clear whether that was true everywhere in Ireland. Britannica, Samhain
Halloween is the eve of Samhain, one of four Quarter Days in the traditional Irish calendar. As with most Irish festivals, the main celebrations were on the night before. National Museum of Ireland
The festival is Samhainn in Scottish Gaelic, Samhain in Irish and Sauin in Manx. Samhainn is said ‘Sa-wayne’. Historic Environment Scotland
In Scottish Gaelic, Halloween is Oidhche Shamhna. Historic Environment Scotland
Spirits and fairies
People believed that at Samhain spirits came into the world of the living, and they were wary of them. Britannica, Samhain
It was commonly believed that on the eve of Samhain the boundary between the living and the dead blurred, and spirits could roam the earth. Britannica
Fairies were believed to come out of mounds at Samhain and play tricks on the living. Britannica, Samhain
Halloween was also called ‘ghost night’ or ‘spirit night’ in Ireland: the souls of the dead were expected to come back to the family home. National Museum of Ireland
How little we know
Very little can be said for certain about ancient Samhain, because the evidence is sparse. Britannica, Samhain
The ancient Irish left few records of it. Short mentions appear in Irish tales of the 10th and 12th centuries; fuller descriptions only date from the 18th century, from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. Britannica, Samhain
The Church’s days
In the 7th century Pope Boniface IV set up All Saints’ Day, at first on 13 May. Britannica
In the 8th century Pope Gregory III moved it to 1 November, Britannica says perhaps partly to replace pagan holidays. Britannica
Did the Church pick 1 November to replace Samhain?
In the 8th century Pope Gregory III moved it to 1 November, Britannica says perhaps partly to replace pagan holidays. Britannica
Historic Environment Scotland says Samhainn was possibly deliberately absorbed when All Saints’ Day moved from 13 May to 1 November in the 8th century. Historic Environment Scotland
The Library of Congress says Christian missionaries put All Saints on 1 November and All Souls on 2 November to replace Samhain; instead, Christian and older beliefs mingled into Halloween. Library of Congress
Britannica’s Samhain article says these Christian holidays were set on these dates by the Roman Catholic Church in the 9th century, entirely independently of Samhain. Britannica, Samhain
Britannica concludes that modern Halloween came from neither Samhain alone nor Allhallowtide alone, but from a mix of the two. Britannica, Samhain
After the Reformation
After the Reformation, Protestants stopped keeping the religious holiday, but in Britain especially Halloween carried on as a non-religious one. Britannica
Halloween was largely forbidden among early American colonists. Immigrants, including many from Ireland, brought their customs from the mid-19th century, and in the 20th century it became a major American holiday. Britannica
In most of Europe and North America today, Halloween is mostly non-religious: parties, costumes, jack-o’-lanterns and trick or treat. Britannica
Other festivals
In some places people lit candles or lanterns on graves or in windows on All Hallows’ Eve to guide souls. Britannica
Mexico’s Day of the Dead, from 31 October to 2 November, is a separate festival, with altars of flowers, candles, food and photos. Britannica
Samhain is also an important holiday in modern Paganism, especially Wicca, where it is mainly a time for honouring the dead. Britannica, Samhain
Timeline
- Ancient Ireland Samhain was a festival in ancient Celtic religion that marked the end of summer and the start of winter. Britannica, Samhain
- 7th century In the 7th century Pope Boniface IV set up All Saints’ Day, at first on 13 May. Britannica
- 8th century In the 8th century Pope Gregory III moved it to 1 November, Britannica says perhaps partly to replace pagan holidays. Britannica
- 10th–12th centuries The ancient Irish left few records of it. Short mentions appear in Irish tales of the 10th and 12th centuries; fuller descriptions only date from the 18th century, from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. Britannica, Samhain
- 1589 In 1589 “hollowmass” fires were banned in Stirling, Scotland. Britannica, Samhain
- Mid-19th century Halloween was largely forbidden among early American colonists. Immigrants, including many from Ireland, brought their customs from the mid-19th century, and in the 20th century it became a major American holiday. Britannica
- 1947 Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF began in 1947, when a teacher and her husband in Philadelphia asked children to collect spare change for UNICEF instead of sweets. Britannica
Our view: the honest answer to “where did Halloween come from?” is “several places at once, and nobody wrote it down”. That is rather fitting for a night about things you can’t quite see.
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