History of Halloween
by Andres
Halloween originated in the United Kingdom and northwestern France more than 3,000 years ago, more specifically in 1840, but it did not begin to be celebrated massively until 1921, when the first Halloween parade was held in Minnesota with terrifying costumes, as a pagan festival known as Samhain. The Celts celebrated Samhain around the autumn solstice to mark the end of the season and the beginning of the new year. The origin of Halloween dates back to an ancient pagan festival celebrated by the Celts 2,000 years ago called Samhain. One of the largest parades was on October 31, 1974 by Greenwich Village puppeteer and mask maker Ralph Lee, it is the largest Halloween parade in the world and the only major nighttime parade in the United States. The parade has 50,000 costumed people and 2 million spectators.
The celebration of Halloween came to the United States through Irish immigrants who settled in the country after the Great Famine of 1845. The first mention of Halloween in the United States was in 1870, in a women’s magazine, which described it as an “English holiday.” The celebration became popular in the United States beginning in 1921, when the first Halloween parade was held in Minnesota.
The American version of Halloween differed from the British version in many ways. Such as the introduction of scarecrows, the “trick or treat” phrase and the use of pumpkins instead of traditional turnips, since pumpkins were abundant at the time, they decided to replace turnips with this vegetable to scare away the devil and guide the souls of those who are no longer with us. Since then, they have become a symbol of what is now known as Halloween.
Although today it is a day of costumes, sweets and children, its origins are not so joyful. The festival was celebrated in Ireland when the harvest season was coming to an end and the “Celtic New Year” began, coinciding with the autumn solstice. It was believed that during that night the spirits of the dead could walk among the living.
During the writing of this article, I asked myself, according to what I know, what Halloween means in my country” In Venezuela where I come from, Halloween means celebrating the devil and demons.” But here in America I hear that pumpkins drive away the devil and evil spirits.
