It is said that the oldest origins of Halloween date back to the peoples who inhabited Gaul and the British islands between the years 600 BC and 800 AD, although at the time there were nothing similar to ‘trick or treating’. After centuries of evolution connected to the Celtic people and their pagan festival of Samhain, the holiday became traditional and ended up being exported to the United States, a country that made the celebration hugely popular across the world. Back then, the Celtic people believed that the last day of summer, October 31, was when the spirits came out of cemeteries to take possession of the bodies of the living. To scare the ghosts, the Celts left frightening objects around their homes, such asskulls or decorated pumpkins.
On the other side, according to the holiday’s religious background, the Catholic Church consecrated the day to celebrate the martyrs in the fourth century.Although thefirst feasts in honor of “All Saints” wereoriginally celebrated on May 13, Pope Gregory III changed the date to November 1. Later, in 840, Pope Gregory IV ordered that the feast of All Saints should be celebrated universally on that same day, spreading the holiday across the Catholic countries. The foundation of the big day we know today was set and ready to evolve, a process that happened during the next centuries.
Currently, this party is symbolized by the amazing costumes people wear at night, as our infographic will show you. And despite the fact that traditional outfits like ghost, witch or zombie are still famous, the holiday has really turned into an originality contest that allows adults and children to have fun like equals. However, the kids are definitely the big fans of this day, when they can wear scary costumes and ask for candy by saying the famous expression ‘trick or treat’.
