Halloween: date, meaning, origins and legends

What exactly is Halloween? Where does it come from? What does it mean? Why do we carve pumpkins? Because although we’ve been celebrating Halloween for a while now, we’re not entirely sure where this festival actually comes from. All the answers to your questions about the world’s spookiest festival are right here!

What does Halloween mean?

The word ‘Halloween’ is actually a bit of a lazy pronunciation; the full expression is All Hallows’ Eve, which means ‘the eve of All Saints’ Day ’ (‘Hallow’ is the old form of the word ‘holy’, meaning ‘saint’, and ‘Even’ means ‘Eve’ in Scottish, as in ‘New Year’s Eve’, i.e. the evening before), bearing in mind that ‘all saints’ = ‘All Saints’ Day’. Are you with me? To put it in ‘saint-terms’, it’s quite simply the eve of All Saints’ Day (okay, I’m rambling…). It was then that the ‘All’ got lost along the way, and over the years, ‘Hallows’ Even’ became ‘Hallow’ Even’ and finally ‘Hallowe’en’ or ‘Halloween’.

When is Halloween?

Now that we know it’s the eve of All Saints’ Day, it’s the same day every year – or rather, the same evening: 31 October.

What exactly is Halloween, and where does it come from?

Remember, All Saints’ Day is the day when your Granny goes to put flowers in the cemetery? So there we have it: Halloween isn’t just about dressing up and carving pumpkins. It’s linked to the dead (booooouuuhhh!).

So, as everyone knows by now,¹ November is the day dedicated to All Saints, from Saint Paul to Saint Gertrude via Saint Hyppolytus – in other words, people who distinguished themselves through their piety and who died for their beliefs. By extension, we pay tribute to all those who bore these saints’ names on All Saints’ Day (no, no, it’s not complicated, I promise…). It’s said that Halloween – that is, the eve of All Saints’ Day – is considered the last chance for the spirits of the dead to take revenge on their enemies. That’s why Christians used to dress up to avoid being recognised and suffering the vengeance of the dead. So now you know why we dress up for Halloween!

But Halloween actually has even older origins: it is thought to be a Gaelic festival (so definitely not Christian!) called Samhain, held over several days to mark the transition to a new season – a dark time, as it is cold and there is little sunshine. It also symbolises the opening to the ‘other world’, the realm of the gods. In fact, to invoke them and ward off evil spirits, people would light bonfires. But with the advent of Christianity from the^{5th century}onwards, a pagan festival didn’t quite fit in, so Christians took the concept and put their own spin on it.

Who celebrates Halloween?

This Samhain tradition originates in Ireland, so naturally, the Irish are the most faithful to the tradition. And as they emigrated in large numbers to the United States and Canada following an unprecedented famine in the^mid-19th century, they took their traditions with them. As there were significant migration flows within the Commonwealth (that is to say, what remains of the British Empire – essentially the English-speaking countries), Britain and Australia also very quickly adopted Halloween traditions.

And why do we carve pumpkins for Halloween?

Believe it or not, traditionally, people used to carve turnips! And the reason is quite simple: pumpkins were unknown in Ireland. So turnips were hollowed out instead, until the Irish emigrated to the United States, the land of the pumpkin. And if these days we’re more likely to buy a pumpkin than a turnip for this activity, it’s simply because it’s easier! Give it a go, and you’ll soon see for yourself!

So why did people hollow out turnips back then, you might ask?

Well, it all goes back to the legend of Jack-o’-lantern, a character straight out of an old Irish folktale. To cut a long story short, whilst the Devil tried to tempt him into sin on several occasions, Jack managed to escape through a thousand and one tricks. When Jack dies, he’s refused entry to Heaven because of his drunkenness, and to Hell too (remember, the Devil wasn’t exactly pleased at being taken for a turnip). With some difficulty, he manages to get a piece of burning coal from the Devil to light his way whilst he waits for the Day of Judgement. He then decides to hollow out a turnip to put his piece of coal inside and make a lantern. Ever since, the lanterns carved each year from pumpkins and turnips for Halloween represent Jack and all those lost souls.

Any more questions? Feel free to ask them in the comments! If you’ve got any other Halloween anecdotes, the comments section is there for that too! 😉

As you’ve probably realised, the best place to celebrate Halloween is Ireland. So what are you waiting for? Book your haunted youth hostel now to celebrate this festival in true tradition!

Thanks toDavid Trawin, Jude Hill, Cristian Iohan Ştefănescuand Derek Σωκράτης Finchfor the terrifying photos!