Goblins and ghouls! Elsa-s and Anna-s! Costumes galore! I’m certainly excited for Halloween. There was nothing more fun as a kid than figuring out what you were going to be and putting a costume together. Plus, all the candy you could eat. What’s not to love about Halloween?
A Brief History
What you may not know is that Halloween is thought to have started as far back as 2,000 years ago. It began as a Celtic tradition. Ancient Celtic people would celebrate with bonfires and, yes, even costumes. They believed that the spirit world came alive on October 31st and helped them to predict necessary crops and harvests for the next year. This was a very important tradition for them.
The Romans carried on the festival, though they changed it to fit their belief system. The Catholic Church eventually adopted November 1st as All Saints Day, which honored the dead. People across the world continued to dress up in costumes on the night before and celebrate “all Hallow’s eve,” which would eventually come to be Halloween as we know it.
Halloween wasn’t widely celebrated when America was established, but when Irish immigrants began to move in, they brought the celebration with them and created the tradition of trick-or-treating. The rest, as they say, is history!
Staying Safe this Halloween
Enjoying trick or treating with friends, family and neighbors is a great way to celebrate! Just make sure to keep the following safety tips in mind:
- Stay in well-lit areas while trick-or-treating – if you can, it’s best to stay in an area that you know well
- Check all candy to make sure it doesn’t look suspicious and that it hasn’t been opened
- If your child is old enough to trick-or-treat on their own, make sure they stay with a group
- Make sure any costumes are easy to see to avoid traffic accidents
- Cross only at crosswalks and be sure to keep an eye out for vehicles
- If you’re driving on Halloween, take extra precautions to be safe, and watch for pedestrians. Please don’t drink and drive.
I hope you have a very happy and safe Halloween! If you haven’t found the perfect neighborhood to call a trick-or-treating home yet, give me a call at the number below.