Ancient History and Beliefs:
Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain over two thousand years ago. The festival took place on October 31st and marked the end of the summer and the harvest season. It was the beginning of the dark, cold winter and this period was associated with death.
The Celts believed that on this night, the spirits of the dead returned to earth. Therefore, to drive the evil spirits away, people lit large bonfires and wore costumes to avoid being recognized by the spirits.
Religion and Tradition:
As Christianity spread, the Church created All Saints’ Day on November 1st., and its vigil, «All Hallows eve», (Hallow meaning Holy), which later became Halloween. European immigrants brought these traditions to America in the 19th century where they evolved into the modern celebration with customs like going trick-or-treating around the neighbourhood and pumpkin carving.
The unknown history about Halloween:
Elizabeth Oehler Krebs who was born in Bern, Switzerland, in November 14, 1848 and migrated to the United States with her family in 1885, was commonly known as «The Flower Woman of Hiawatha», in Kansas. She was the pioneer in organizing the first Halloween party in America. She shifted the American holiday from a day of children’s’ mischief to one with costumes and parades.
How did it start ?
Elizabeth was fond of gardening and was good at it. In fact, she won awards and even established the «Hiawatha Garden Club». However, Mrs. Krebs had a problem. Every year at Halloween, her meticulously maintained flower garden was destroyed by mischievous children running around at night. Therefore, she came up with an idea; that is to make a deal with the kids. Such deal was meant to discourage the naughty children from destroying her gorgeous garden. In other words, if they behaved properly, they would get a treat.
This was the beginning of what is widely known today as «Trick or Treat».
Krebs worked with the local Civic Improvement Club to hold an event for the local children. It was called a special entertainment for the young people in order to replace the usual rough pranks and disturbances of injury to property.
On October 31, 1914, Elizabeth Krebs organized the first Hiawatha Frolic Festival. It is recognized as the longest consecutive Halloween parade.
There was a costume parade with a marching band and a dance. This event, called the «Halloween Frolic» is thought to be the oldest Halloween parade in the United States. It is said that over a thousand people attended the first event.
As time went by, the holiday evolved into the modern celebration with traditions like trick-or-treating from door to door and public haunted attractions that became more popular since the 1930s.
Happy Halloween !!