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Halloween Origins + Top Tips!

October 2018 | Neal Foster

Halloween is most definitely one of the more popular days of the year, especially amongst youngsters. With Trick or Treating and scary costumes, it’s hard to escape the madness but how did it all start? Many people consider Halloween to be ‘American’ but this is actually wrong – it started right here in Britain!

Origins

The origins of Halloween go way back to the days of an ancient Celtic festival called ‘Samhain’. ‘Samhain’ is Old Irish for the words ‘Summers End’. Back then, they didn’t carve Pumpkins as the Celts were celebrating the end of the harvest season. In this Gaelic culture, they would count up all the produce and get ready for winter. There was more to it though as the festival was held to ward off evil spirits that the Celts believed would come back to life and damage their crops. This is where a lot of the costumes we see today come from as masks were worn to try and mimic these evil spirits.

Trick or Treat?

These days, children dress up and wander around their local neighbourhood knocking on doors and saying ‘Trick or Treat’. In return they usually get some confectionery. This has religious roots though going back as far as the medieval days. It was called ‘Souling’ and people would go from Parish to Parish, begging rich home owners for ‘Soul Cakes’ in return for prayers for the souls of the givers. It wasn’t actually first recorded in America until 1911.

Modern Day

America really took Halloween to the next level by the mid-20th Century where it became popularised by companies such as Disney. UNICEF came up with a clever idea to try and get children to raise charity funds whilst out Trick or Treating. Halloween has moved away from its religious roots and all faiths participate all over the world.

The Clothing Outlets top tips for Halloween

Make sure your little one’s costumes are bright, so they can be seen in the dark, especially if you live near a busy road! Our Pumpkin Onesie is about as bright as it gets!

Always buy too many goodies. There is nothing worse than scrambling around the house on Halloween when all the chocolate is gone! Make sure you have plenty as it is hardly going to go to waste is it!?

Don’t leave it till the last minute. Plan early and get organised and you won’t be having to cut up any bed linen at 4PM on the 31st!

We currently have 30% off our Halloween collection! All you need to do is enter HALLOWEEN30 at checkout to apply the discount, this includes free delivery too!

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