Halloween – Origins and Folklore

For many adults in France, Halloween is primarily the cult horror film from the United States. A series even taking into account the number of sequels and spin-offs. Children began celebrating Halloween in the 1980s, around the same time as St Patrick’s Day actually. But what exactly is Halloween for Anglo-Saxons and why do they favour the pumpkin so much?

A Celtic tradition above all

Halloween finds its origins with the Celts, well before the discovery of North America. The exact term is in fact Hallowe’en, which itself is a contraction of 3 words: “All Hallows Eve”. Knowing that Hallow means Saint or Holy, you will quickly make the connection with the Christian festival of All Saints’ Day. This is celebrated on the same date, 31 October. It would also seem to coincide with a pagan festival by the name of Samhain.

The Gauls also celebrated Halloween’s ancestor!

And indeed, like the Celts, our ancestors the Gauls celebrated Samain or Samhain in English. In Gaelic, this means November, it was the end of the harvest for the Gauls and it also corresponded to the end of the year altogether. They would therefore celebrate this double commemoration for 7 days! The pumpkins from the end of the harvest and an endless celebration, that fits rather well. But why and when did Halloween become so frightening? In English, we say spooky by the way.

It is the festival of the dead

And there we are, the circle is complete! With the beginning of the winter season comes the “dead season”, life will slow down for many months. According to beliefs of the time, the deceased return to earth and are even visible to the living during this week of festivities. No need to look far why we have so many zombie and ghost fancy dress outfits at Halloween.

The Irish legend of Jack O’Lantern

Halloween is a true amalgam of tales and folklore across the millennia and the continents. Here now is the origin of the illuminated pumpkin! It comes from an Irish legend in fact, that of old Jack who had played several tricks on the devil. As a result, at his death, hell was denied him, not being able to go to heaven either, he is condemned to wander endlessly. He then decides to light a turnip as a lantern. When the Irish leave in large numbers for the United States, they import this tradition but very quickly they opt for pumpkins much fleshier than turnips indeed. You now know why Halloween is so frightening!