Millions of people celebrate Halloween annually and in the United States approximately 28 million Halloween cards are sent out, making this holiday the eight largest card sending occasion in America. With Halloween fast approaching and everyone thinking about what is the best costume to wear, have you wondered how this popular holiday gets started. Well if you have, read on for some interesting facts.
Halloween started in the U.S. in the 1840s by Irish peasants who escaped the Great Potato Famine. The Irish peasants on Halloween begged rich people for food and play various practical jokes, if they did not receive any foods. Thus, the rich decided to give the peasants foods such as cookies, candies and fruits to avoid having to deal with the practical jokes.
Even though, Halloween started in the U.S. in the 1840s, it is believed that the holiday started around 700 BC with the Celts. The Celts celebrated the Samhain festival on November 1, a day which they considered the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. It was referred to as the day of the dead because they believed that on that day the ancestral spirits joined with the present and were linked together. As part of their Samhain festival, on October 31, they wore costumes and lit bonfires. The fires were away to get rid of the spirits and food was away to appease the dead. This ritual was difficult to break, and the Christians at that time realized that they could not and proclaimed October 31, as All Hallow Eve, which later changed to Halloween.
Jack-O-lanterns are another Halloween tradition that originated from the Irish as well. This tradition initially started out as carving of a turnip but changed to pumpkin later when the Irish migrated to the U.S.
As you can see, the tradition of wearing Halloween costume started a long time ago. Today, one of the most popular trends is wearing costumes from television characters and pop stars. Thus, in 2011, the most sought after costumes comes from pop star Lady Gaga, and Charlie Sheen just to name a few.