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Halloween in America
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So how did Halloween get to America if it’s a Celtic tradition? Did you know it was a Celtic tradition? If not, click here. If so, would you like to find out how Halloween became an American tradition?
Halloween came to America with immigration! Who would’ve thought, huh? European immigrants brought their Halloween customs with them because of the strict Protestant belief systems that were in early New England (the celebration of Halloween was very limited.) With coming to America, they were able to celebrate how they pleased.
Halloween was more popular though in Maryland and the southern colonies. Since America is very diverse, the different beliefs of Halloween were brought together to form a whole new Halloween – the Halloween America knows and loves today. The first celebrations were public events held to celebrate the harvest and people would throw parties that included the telling of each other’s fortunes, sharing stories of the dead, dancing, and singing.
Colonial Halloween celebrations also included telling stories of the dead, as well as making mischief. Even though Halloween was becoming very popular, it was not yet celebrated all over the country. Therefore, only half the country celebrated Halloween this way.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, more immigrants came to America, and with them were the Irish. With English and Irish traditions being brought together, people began to dress up in costumes and went from house to house to ask for food or money. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Halloween parties were popular among both children and adults by the 1900’s. However, newspapers and community leaders were informing parents that they should take anything “scary” out of Halloween celebrations. Therefore, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious nature during the early 1900’s.
Sadly, vandalism became a popular thing among Halloween celebrations and so Halloween became more of a celebration for younger people. Between 1920 and 1950, trick or treating came back to Halloween celebrations because it was an inexpensive way for the communities to share in the celebration.
Did you know that Americans spend about $6.9 billion every year on Halloween? With doing this, we’ve made Halloween the second largest commercial holiday. I wonder what the first largest one is...
By the way, Happy Halloween!
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