HALLOWEEN TODAY
Unlike today's Halloween, Samhain was not just a dark and spooky time.
​
Pope Gregory III turned Samhain into All Saints Day in the 8th century. It was a day to honor all the saints who did not have a special day already. All Hallows Day, the eve of All Saints Day, became the day when the Samhain practices took place. The "evening of Hallows" eventually became Halloween (D'Costa 2009).
Witch, comes from the word Wicca, meaning wise one. Cats were thought of to be the wandering spirit of the witch, which is why we use them today as decoration (D'Costa 2009).
​
Orginal Samhain celebrations would have bonfires. The bonfires attracted mosquitos, which would attract bats. This would lead to bats being another Halloween decoration (D'Costa 2009).
Divination practice in Samhain evolved into telling ghost stories during Halloween (D'Costa 2009).
​
Dressing in a Halloween costume evolved from wear animal skins during Samhain in order to confuse evil-doing spirits (D'Costa 2009).
The Irish originally carved turnips as a way to frighten away "Stingy Jack," who was forced to wander around our world with a lump of coal in a turnip to light his way due to making a bad deal with the devil. This is why we call carved pumpkins "jack-o-lanterns." Since Turnips were not as common in America, pumpkins were and easy to carve, thus turning into a Halloween tradition (D'Costa 2009).
