Why do we love Halloween so much?

OVER 2000 YEARS AGO

The ancient Celtic pagans celebrated the Samhain festival that begun on October 31st.  The festival involved music, dancing, bonfires, and feasts, celebrating the end of the harvest. There was a focus on life and death – the pagans believed that the cycle from harvest to winter caused spirits to rise into the mortal world. 

During the festival, they wore animal skins and heads to hide from malevolent spirits and reconcile with the benevolent. These fashions associated with the festival then evolved to any form of disguise.

Offerings were often made to the spirits, so people would go door-to-door in costumes and recite verses to receive gifts on behalf of the spirits.

a depiction of samhain

During the Middle Ages, those who came knocking were given ‘soul cakes’ in exchange for prayer and song. 

With Christianity spreading across Europe and into Ireland, pagan traditions were absorbed by the Church and they were merged with Christianity’s own holidays.

8th CENTURY

The Catholic holiday of All Saints’ Day/All Hallows’ Day was moved from May to November – making October 31 ‘All Hallows’ Eve’.

eventually shortened to ‘Halloween’

In the 1800s, large numbers of Irish people migrated to America due to the Great Potato Famine. They brought with them their own traditions, practices, and spiritual beliefs – including Halloween. At first, Halloween was predominantly celebrated in small, rural villages. 

Halloween was first celebrated in Australia in Castlemaine, Victoria on October 29 in 1858. It was Scottish, and potentially Irish migrants, who brought Halloween across the shores and organised the Scots’ Halloween Balls. While Scots arrived with the First Fleet, it wasn’t until the gold rush that newspapers recorded these balls. The tradition slowly started spreading across Australia and Halloween Balls remained popular in Australia in the 20th century. 

Mount Alexander Mail, 25th October 1858.

By the early 1900s, the holiday started gaining popularity across America, it mainly involved autumnal festivals and community events. During the 20s, Halloween became more of a secular holiday, with a focus on family.

For much of this time, October 31st in the USA was a chaotic night of mischief and vandalism. 

‘Trick or Treat’ was much more literal than it is now. If a child was not given a treat, they would express their anger by throwing flour at the homeowner or potentially something worse.

a still from 1944 film 'meet me in st. louis', set in 1903 on halloween night.

By the 50s, capitalism took hold of the holiday and it had been thoroughly commercialised. 

Showcasing the power advertising has, we can thank Coors Light for Halloween becoming a holiday for adults as well as children. The beer company took hold of October 31st in the 80s because its competitors had already claimed the other holidays. From then on, sexy costumes and wild parties became synonymous with Halloween.

WWII American GIs brought their own traditions to Australia and American films and TV shows made their way to Australian screens. This Americanisation is what made Halloween what it is in Australia today.

1986 coors light advert

By 2005, more than half of adults celebrated Halloween, and this popularity has only grown. Alcohol has become a very important ‘treat’ of the holiday, with bar hopping and parties almost just as popular as the neighbourhood trick or treating done by children. 

The modern adult adoption of Halloween can be attributed to how adulthood has changed in recent decades. The traditional markers of adulthood of buying a house, getting married, and having children have become almost unattainable and much more arbitrary – making transitions to adulthood drawn out and complex. This leads to intense identity exploration and confrontation with fear and anxiety for the future.

With its costumes and focus on horror and change, Halloween is the perfect opportunity for young adults to experiment, show their creativity, and let go of anxieties. 

halloween night in sydney in 2017. photo: stephen godfrey

For Australians, Halloween provides an opportunity to look death in the face and seek out community. In our culture, death is a subject avoided or swept under the rug. We use terms like ‘passed away’ to soften difficult discussions. Halloween subverts these notions and playfully brings the topic to the forefront.