A brief history of Halloween traditions

When we think of Halloween, we often think of pumpkins, scary costumes and trick-or-treating. But do you know where these traditions come from? Watch the video to find out!

Instructions

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. Remember you can read the transcript at any time.

So it's the time of year where things start getting a little spooky and some terrifying traditions begin. Trick-or-treating, dressing up, pumpkin carving and telling scary stories to name a few. But have you ever wondered why? Well, let me tell you more. We all know what Halloween is, but have you heard of Samhain? Well, this is sort of where Halloween came from. It's an old Celtic tradition that is still celebrated around the world today. The Celts believed Samhain was the day in the year where the gap between our world and the world of the spirits was very thin, so spirits could easily get through. This eventually joined up with the Christian festival of All Saints' Day to create All Hallows' Eve. Yes, you've got it, Halloween. Who is making that noise?

Well, what about the traditions? Well, trick-or-treating had its beginnings in medieval England. Yep, it began hundreds of years ago when people used to go from door to door offering to pray or sing a song for people's families in exchange for food. But it wasn't called trick-or-treating back in the day. It was called souling. It happened around All Souls' Day, a special time where Christians prayed for their loved ones. It carried on through the Victorian era, and people think this is how trick-or-treating became a British tradition.

So, what about creepy costumes? Well, that's another tradition that comes from the Celts. They used to wear spooky outfits to try and scare away any spirits that might be hanging around. Can you pack that in? I'm trying to record a video here!

Right, let's crack on. So that's costumes sorted, but what about pumpkins? For this, we're going to have to travel to Ireland. There, people didn't start with pumpkins. They actually started with turnips! Spooky faces would be carved up on the turnips to scare away a mythical spirit called Jack that people believed walked around at this time of year. Then, in the 19th century, many Irish people moved to America, where they found pumpkins easier to grow, and that's how we got these. I think I did an all right job, didn't I? What do you reckon? So there you have it, a brief history of Halloween.