This tradition began with people believing that carving scary faces onto turnips would frighten away evil spirits. The tradition didnвЂ™t really take off until after World War II, when many childrenвЂ™s magazines featured it and the idea entered popular culture. Here, trick-or-treating may have started with children trading songs for treats in the 1910s, according to old newspaper texts. This practice was known as вЂњgoing-a-souling.вЂќ While that may be the start of it, that tradition didnвЂ™t make its way to America. Poor children in Britain and Ireland went door-to-door on All Hallows Eve and received food in exchange for the promise of praying for the giverвЂ™s dead relatives on All Saints Day. Trick-or-treating may have also become a part of Halloween history thanks to Celtic tradition. The word Halloween is a shortening of All HallowsвЂ™ Evening also known as HalloweвЂ™en or All HallowsвЂ™ Eve. People set bonfires on hilltops to ward off the evil spirits before the start of the winter season. October 31 became All Hallows Eve, when ghosts of the dead could return to destroy the harvest that was stored for winter. People came to believe that on October 31, the worlds of the living and dead overlapped before the start of the new year.

The ancient Celts from Britain and Ireland observed the start of the new year on November 1, All Souls Day, marking the end of summer and harvest time. During the time of Samhain, the ancient pagans took stock of supplies and prepared for winter. The holidayвЂ™s origin comes from an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced вЂњsah-winвЂќ), which celebrated the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture.

Here are some facts about Halloween history to pass along to your kids: The Origin of Halloween Turns out, thereвЂ™s a lot to learn about the night when itвЂ™s suddenly OK to walk the streets collecting candy from neighbors. For all the energy that goes into Halloween fun, it seems few of us know what weвЂ™re actually celebrating.

Origin of halloween