Halloween Graphics: Custom Printing for Windows, Front Doors, and Garage Doors

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October 31st is All Hallows Eve…known today as Halloween.

Halloween is one of the oldest holidays in the world. The spooky day associated with trick-or-treating and costumes has its roots in the ancient three-day Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”). This festival is a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.

Just as November 1st was once called All Hallows’ Day, October 31st was called All Hallows’ Eve. Over time, All Hallows’ Eve was shortened to Halloween!

A Bit More History

The root word of Halloween is “hallow,” which means “holy. “The suffix “een” is an abbreviation of “evening.” Halloween refers to the Eve of All Hallows, the night before All Saints’ Day, the Christian holy day that honors saintly people of the past. All Souls’ Day is celebrated on November 2nd and is considered a sacred day for honoring the dead and departed.

The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest during Samhain, thereby making it the ideal time to communicate with the deceased and to divine the future.

Why does Halloween make us think of trick-or-treating, witches on broomsticks, bobbing for apples, and carved pumpkins? Why are carved pumpkins called jack-o’-lanterns? Here’s a look at the origins of Halloween traditions and why we celebrate Halloween the way we do today.

Bobbing for Apples

Have you ever bobbed for apples? The Roman festival for Pomona, the goddess of fruit and orchards, was celebrated around November 1st. Romans believed that the first person to catch a bobbing apple with their teeth would be the first to marry in the new year.

Witches on Broomsticks

Why are witches a common costume on Halloween?

Images of witches have appeared in various forms throughout history—from evil, wart-nosed women huddling over a cauldron of boiling liquid to hag-faced, cackling beings riding through the sky on brooms wearing pointy hats. In pop culture, the witch has been portrayed as a benevolent, nose-twitching suburban housewife, an awkward teenager learning to control her powers, and a trio of charmed sisters battling the forces of evil. The real history of witches, however, is dark and, often for those believed to be witches, deadly.

In the Middle Ages, women labeled as witches were perceived as evil beings by early Christians in Europe, inspiring the iconic Halloween figure. In the Salem witch trials in the USA and Europe, women pointed out by witnesses to be witches were often burned at the stake.

Black Cats
One of the oldest and most enduring superstitions is that crossing paths with a black cat will bring bad luck. The dark-colored felines have also been folded into modern Halloween symbols, giving them the (unearned) reputation of being spooky. They are most often paired with their caretaker, the witch. The relationship between witches and black cats is probably imaginary. Still, it is possible that black cats make better mousers since they cannot be seen at night and therefore have a hunting advantage. “Witches do tend towards the practical.”

Why Do We Wear Scary Costumes and Trick-or-Treat?

During Samhain, superstitious country folk would disguise themselves with animal skins and masks made from sailcloth or linen. In costume, they would go outdoors and make lots of noise to fool troublesome spirits into thinking they were one of them or scare them away. In addition, food was placed outside, near the doorway, to appease bothersome spirits who might otherwise play a trick on the inhabitants, such as tipping over containers of milk or hiding coins and jewelry.

Today’s trick-or-treating dates to the Middle Ages, when poor people collected baked goods called “soul cakes” from the wealthy. The poor promised to pray for the giver’s deceased loved ones in exchange for cakes. Very quickly, soul cakes were replaced by candy, popcorn balls, apples, and toys. No prayers are needed, just a glowing porch pumpkin and a doorbell.

Carving the Jack O’ Lantern

The term “jack-o’-lantern” originated in 17th-century Britain, where it was used to refer to a man with a lantern or a night watchman. The British would call men whose names they didn’t know by a common name like Jack. Thus, an unknown man carrying a lantern was sometimes called “Jack with the lantern” or “Jack of the lantern.” In Ireland, it became the slang, Jack O Lantern, from an old Irish folklore passed down through generations, the story of Stingy Jack.

As the story goes, a man called Stingy Jack invited the devil out for drinks and asked him to play a parlor game to see if the devil could turn himself into a coin so that they could pay for the drinks. After the devil obliged, Jack ran off with the coin, and the devil was trapped inside it. Jack freed the devil based on the deal that he would not claim Jack’s soul when he died. Jack also played another trick on the devil to extend his life. As the story goes, the devil got the best of Jack and cursed him to walk the earth with only the lighted turnip to light his path. In Ireland, people started to carve demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away Jack’s wandering soul. When Irish immigrants moved to the U.S., they began carving pumpkins, as these were native to the region and much easier than turnips and beets!