LibGuides: Celebrate Halloween!: History & Lore of Halloween

Origins

The modern holiday of Halloween evolved from a number of ancient traditions. Harvest festivals, solemn religious observance, remembrance of the dead, children's frolics, and anarchistic high jinks have distilled into a uniquely American holiday celebrated on October 31 with candy, costumes, and an increasing number of spine-chilling decorations.

Many historians believe that Halloween has its origins as early as the fifth century BCE in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of harvest and acknowledged the thin line between life and death. Theories differ as to the meaning behind the disguises and pranks that became associated with the celebration, but some historians believe they were intended to confuse and distract the spirits of the dead thought to roam the world on Samhain. The Catholic Church, seeking to suppress indigenous religious practices, reinvented Samhain as All Saints' Day, which was established on November 1; the day before it became All Hallows Eve, or Hallowe'en.

Gianoulis, Tina. "Halloween." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, edited by Thomas Riggs, 2nd ed., vol. 2, St. James Press, 2013, pp. 597-598. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2735801196/GVRL?u=lincclin_bcc&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=a0355a5c. Accessed 25 Sept. 2023.

Books on Halloween

Halloween by Nicholas Rogers
ISBN: 9780195168969

Publication Date: 2003-10-31

Boasting a rich, complex history rooted in Celtic and Christian ritual, Halloween has evolved from ethnic celebration to a blend of street festival, fright night, and vast commercial enterprise. In this colorful history, Nicholas Rogers takes a lively, entertaining look at the cultural originsand development of one of the most popular holidays of the year.Drawing on a fascinating array of sources, from classical history to Hollywood films, Rogers traces Halloween as it emerged from the Celtic festival of Samhain (summer's end), picked up elements of the Christian Hallowtide (All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day), arrived in North America as an Irish and Scottish festival, and evolved into an unofficial but large-scale holiday by the early 20th century. He examines the 1970s and '80s phenomena of Halloween sadism (razor blades in apples) and inner-city violence (arson in Detroit), as well as the immense influence of the horror film genre on the reinvention of Halloween as a terror-fest....trick-or-treat holiday.
Trick or Treat by Lisa Morton
ISBN: 9781789141580

Publication Date: 2019-09-12

Halloween has spread around the world, yet its associations with death and the supernatural as well as its inevitable commercialization have made it one of our most puzzling holidays. How did it become what it is today? Trick or Treat is the first book both to examine the origins and history of Halloween and to explore in depth its current global popularity. Festivals like the Celtic Samhain and Catholic All Souls' Day have blended to produce the modern Halloween, which has been reborn with new customs in America--but there are also related but independent holidays, especially Mexico's Day of the Dead...
The Pagan Book of Halloween by Gerina Dunwich
ISBN: 0140196161

Publication Date: 2000-10-01

For Pagans and witches, Halloween, or Samhain, is the most important and sacred holiday -- a day to honor the dead and to celebrate the birth of a new year. The number of Wicca practitioners is rapidly growing -- especially among young women -- and popular media has embraced Paganism on television, in movies, and on the internet. This book guides Wiccans, Pagans, and curious non-Wiccans alike in incorporating some of the original meanings and rituals into their Halloween festivities. It explains the rich Pagan/Irish roots of the holiday and includes ancient legends, divinations for telling the future, spells for finding a mate, and potions for gaining knowledge ...

Celebrate Halloween!

History of Halloween

Haunted History of Halloween DVD

Origins

Books on Halloween