Halloween brings together spooky stories, costumes, carved lanterns and candy. Its history is a mix of older seasonal customs, Christian observances and practices that changed as communities carried them to new places.
Samhain and the End of Harvest
One part of that history is Samhain, an old Irish seasonal festival associated with the end of harvest and the approach of winter. The Library of Congress American Folklife Center connects Halloween with Samhain and notes that the idea of Samhain as the Celtic New Year is disputed.
Stories about encounters with otherworldly beings became part of the season’s folklore. What people believed and did varied across places and periods, so it is hard to draw a straight line from one ancient ritual to today’s costume aisle.
All Hallows’ Eve
Halloween also takes its name from the Christian calendar. All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day, falls on November 1; the preceding evening became All Hallows’ Eve. All Souls’ Day follows on November 2. These observances and local seasonal customs developed over centuries, rather than appearing as one tidy replacement story.
How Traditions Travelled
Irish and Scottish immigrants brought seasonal customs to North America, where celebrations continued to change. Costumes, parties, pranks and visits from house to house appeared in different combinations over time.
The Library of Congress’s historic newspaper collection offers snapshots of that change, including costume celebrations, tricks and a 1950 candy advertisement. One advertisement is evidence of a particular moment, not proof that a single company invented trick-or-treating.
Why Carve a Jack-o’-Lantern?
Before the pumpkin became a familiar Halloween decoration in America, people in parts of Ireland carved lanterns from turnips. The National Museum of Ireland received a carved lantern in 1943. Its ghost turnip display is a plaster-cast model made and painted by Eileen Barnes; the donor described a local tradition remembered from around 1900.
The museum also records the tale of Stingy Jack, a wanderer associated with a lantern. It is a folktale, not a documented origin story for every carved face. Pumpkins later became a practical North American adaptation. Either way, a glowing vegetable with a crooked grin is hard to forget.
Different Days of Remembrance
Not every observance near Halloween is a version of it. In Mexico, Día de los Muertos is a distinct tradition of remembering deceased loved ones. UNESCO describes its Indigenous roots and the ways families welcome and honor those who have died.
In the Philippines, Undas is another distinct time of remembrance, when many families visit graves and honor loved ones. Similar calendar dates do not make the traditions interchangeable.
From Pranks to Parties
Halloween in the United States has included mischief as well as community gatherings. Over time, costumes and organized celebrations became familiar parts of the holiday, and candy became a prominent feature of trick-or-treating. The newspaper examples show a changing tradition, not a single moment when Halloween became the same everywhere.
Halloween also has a commercial side. A National Retail Federation survey projected $13.1 billion in U.S. Halloween spending for 2025. That was a survey forecast, not a measurement of what people actually spent or a figure for every year.
Why Halloween Still Has Pull
A carved face on a doorstep, a homemade costume or a story told after dark can turn an ordinary evening into a shared occasion. Halloween’s appeal is not one ancient custom frozen in time. It is the way people keep adapting the season to their own communities.
What is your favorite Halloween tradition? Are you a pumpkin carver, a costume maker or the person who brings the best ghost story?
