Halloween has its origins as a celtic festival, known as Samhain.

Halloween has its origins as a celtic festival, known as Samhain. This festival was to celebrate the beginning of the second half of the year & involved lots of activities around fire, spirits, costumes & more. most of the more modern Halloween traditions began in the elderly English period & lots of still stay to this day.


So what is Halloween & where did it all come from?

Masks & Halloween costumes have been maintained as a custom since elderly english times & these days there is a immense industry in Halloween Costumes & masks!

The original Samhain festivals often used costumes that people would dress up in to ward off spirits. These costumes were black or white with hoods & masks.

Some other traditions still exist, such as candles in windows (which originated by Irish & Scottish people) to honour their dead.

But what about pumpkins? Carving pumpkins looks like a unusual custom, & this is true. It started in the elderly ages with carving of turnips & other vegetables, often with faces on them. In North America, the custom continued with another vegetable that was plentiful & straightforward to carve - the pumpkin!

Popular Halloween costumes usually include Witches, Devils & other 'dark' characters that are more befitting of something historicallyin the past scary to ward off evil spirits. I wonder how lots of people even realise why they look to buy scary costumes for Halloween these days? Over the years though, costume choices have changed to include anything, & far more creative.

Halloween traditions mixed with a growing market for Halloween costumes have kept Halloween alive & strong in lots of countries. In 2006 the estimated spending North America on Halloween costumes was $4.96b. Its a sizable market!

So next time you celebrate Halloween, think about the ancient rituals from which it started.