Halloween has been around for hundreds of years but the meaning behind the celebration has changed as the years have gone by. Halloween started as a celebration to welcome the winter. Now, it’s a holiday we all dress up in disguises, get candy, and seek the thrill of being scared.
Halloween started around 2,000 years ago in the 1840s. It started as a Pagan celebration called Samhain (pronounced SAH-win or SOW-in). Samhain was a celebration for the end the summer harvest and to welcome the winter. People would light bonfires, wear costumes to ward off ghosts, and Celtic priests would gather around the bonfires to make predictions about the up coming year.
Trick-or-treating wasn’t invented until the Great Depression when American parents came up with a way to stop their children from harassing strangers, pulling pranks, causing property damage, and committing acts of vandalism.
If you ask somebody what they think of when they hear the word Halloween now, they will probably answer with something like skeletons or jack o’ lanterns. Marrissa Maté, Central’s Art teacher, said, “The first thing I think of is all the decorated houses you see.” Others, such as Logan Mabry and Tyler Elliot say the first thing they think of are “Haunted houses” and “Pumpkins”. They all agreed that its the thrill getting scared and free candy that makes Halloween a special holiday for them.
