History of Halloween

Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic tradition of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which marked the end of summer and the beginning of the cold, dark winter; a time frequently associated with death. The night before the Celtic new year of November 1st, they believed the division between the worlds of the living and the dead were blurred, and that the spirits of the dead returned to destroy crops and cause mayhem. 

Celtic priests, called Druids, would light bonfires to burn crops and animals as a sacrifice to the Celtic deities. Celts wore animal heads and skins as costumes around the bonfire, and at the end of the night, the hearth was re-lit as a symbol of protection to get them through the Winter. After the Romans conquered much of the Celtic territory, new traditions blended with the old. 

In early colonial America, the celebration of Halloween was limited to Maryland and the southern colonies, with protestant practices preventing more widespread celebration. As European immigrant traditions blended with Native American traditions, the uniquely American form of Halloween was born, and became widespread with the influx of Irish immigrants in the later part of the 19th Century.