The wind wails through the shadows as corn fields go quiet. Nearby, a blazing bonfire crackles as faint cloaked figures rise up to the light of the fire. It’s All Hallows Eve in 800 C.E. Ireland, when the line between life and death is blurred and the night is filled with secrets. Two thousand years later, the same air of mystery and playfulness resides in our celebrations of Halloween.
According to HISTORY Channel, the Irish Celtics began the tradition of celebrating the summer’s end with Samhain, a night when people lit bonfires and dressed in animal hides to ward off ghosts.
During the year 8 C.E., Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as a day to honor all saints, christening it “All Saints Day.” The festivals of All Saints Day soon started to incorporate the celebrations of Samhain.
The night before All Saints Day was called All Hallows Eve, when people celebrated the dead because the winter season was often fatal. Later, the bonfires were made into porchlights, animal hides into costumes, and the food left out to repel ghosts changed into bowls for trick-or-treaters, and the holiday became the one that we know today: Halloween.
Pinewood celebrates Halloween with school-hosted costume contests, haunted houses, and trunk-or-treating. Many students and teachers also have their own traditions outside of school. Junior Will Hewlett, for example, crafts his own costumes and dresses up as something different every year.
“It’s a time to show off your creativity because there aren’t really any other holidays where you can dress up as whatever you want for school,” Hewlett said. “I really enjoy that aspect of Halloween. Without it, it would be sad and boring.”
Many Pinewood students also plan matching costumes with their friends and stay out late collecting candy.
When she was younger, English teacher Sabrina Strand used to trick-or-treat with her friends and wear group costumes every year.
“The parents would have a Halloween party, so we would be partying together and going around collecting as much candy as we could,” Strand said. “We hit every house on the street. If their light was on, we knew that they had candy. I dressed up as a black cat and had a plastic pumpkin. It was really fun.”
Two thousand years ago, the Celtics lit bonfires to ward off the dead. Now, we parade through the campus hallways and neighborhood streets in a variety of costumes. People might not dance around fires at midnight anymore, but we still gather around campus in costume to celebrate the holiday, keeping old traditions alive. Maybe you’re only interested in collecting candy, or maybe you spend the months before Halloween making your costume. No matter, you are contributing to a tradition that has been lighting up the dark for two millennia.
