Halloween
I am probably not the only person who enjoys Halloween. Like many others, I embrace the spooky atmosphere of this time of year, which Europeans primarily associate with the United States, where Halloween has become a regular part of the annual autumn celebrations.
For me, American horror films are also an inseparable part of this season. I often watch these films from the 1990s, whose cinematography has a special appeal for me. After all, American film and television productions from the 1990s were part of my childhood and adolescence, much like Cartoon Network or MTV. Many American horror franchises that continue to produce new installments also have their roots in the 1990s, such as Scream.
I cannot help noticing certain elements of 1990s America also in the Netherlands, whether in architectural features, urban planning or fashion and personal appearance. In my opinion, however, the Netherlands has a way of adopting foreign cultural influences on its own terms and integrating into its society primarily those elements it considers beneficial. And American influence is far from the only example.
Dutch people also once colonised parts of America, so some symbols in the USA can have Dutch cultural origins as well.
Perhaps, like me, some people will be surprised to learn that Halloween did not actually originate in America. Its roots lie in Europe, specifically in ancient Celtic traditions that evolved over the centuries and became intertwined with Christian holidays. Only later did Halloween make its way to North America, where it acquired the form Europeans recognise from American films, television programmes and the widespread celebration of the holiday.
One of the most important historical predecessors of Halloween was the Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around the turn of October and November. Its traditions are associated primarily with Ireland and other areas inhabited by Celtic communities.
Samhain marked the transition between the harvest season and the darker part of the year. At a time when life depended much more heavily on non-industrialised agriculture and food supplies, the arrival of winter naturally carried great significance. It was not merely a change of season, but also a period of uncertainty, when people faced cold weather, a lack of daylight and other challenging conditions.
Over time, ideas about the supernatural world also became associated with this festival. According to traditional beliefs, the boundary between the world of the living and the dead could become blurred during this transitional period. Folk tales featured ghosts, supernatural beings and other mysterious forces.
It is precisely this association between autumn, darkness, death and the unknown that helps explain why ghosts, skeletons, witches and other spooky motifs appear in later forms of Halloween. It is important to add, however, that modern Halloween cannot be regarded as an unchanged continuation of a single ancient festival. Its character developed gradually, and the original Celtic customs are known only through limited historical sources.
Christianity also played a significant role in shaping modern Halloween.
The first of November is associated with All Saints’ Day, while the second of November is All Souls’ Day. The evening before All Saints’ Day was known in English as All Hallows’ Eve. It was from this expression that the name Halloween gradually developed…
Over the centuries, older folk traditions and Christian holidays influenced one another. Halloween therefore cannot simply be classified as either a pagan or a Christian holiday. It is the result of a long process of cultural development in which different ideas about death, remembrance of the deceased and the supernatural world became intertwined.
One of Halloween’s most recognisable symbols is the orange pumpkin carved with a face and illuminated by a candle inside. However, this tradition did not originally originate in the United States either.
In Ireland, people primarily used hollowed-out turnips and other root vegetables, carving spooky faces into them. This custom is also associated with the folk legend of Stingy Jack, who, according to the story, tricked the Devil and, after his death, was forced to wander the world carrying an ember inside a hollowed-out turnip that served as his lantern.
When Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their customs to North America, they also began using pumpkins. These were larger and easier to hollow out. Gradually, pumpkins became one of the most distinctive symbols of Halloween.
During the nineteenth century, large numbers of Irish immigrants arrived in North America, partly as a result of the catastrophic famine in Ireland. They brought their cultural traditions, folk tales and customs associated with autumn celebrations with them.
In their new environment, these traditions continued to evolve. Dressing up in costumes, visiting people’s homes and other social activities gradually became more widespread. During the twentieth century, Halloween in the United States increasingly developed into a mass celebration, featuring children’s trick-or-treating, house decorations, costume parties and the sale of themed sweets.
