The holiday we know today as Halloween was not originally about candy. But since the beginning of the 16-century tradition, the costumes and similar attire have stayed true. 

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Halloween was created before the 1st Century, quite some time ago. Originally from Ireland, it was known as the Samhain festival and bears resemblances to the Mexican celebration Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. 

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During the Samhain festival, loved ones who had passed would return home, and live participants would dress up as witches, fairies, goblins, and similar mythical beings. They would then travel up to hilltops to set bonfires, which were thought to reignite the farmland for the prosperity of the winter farming season. 

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Later in the 7th century Pope Boniface the Fourth created what was known as All Saints Day on May 13th. In an attempt to regulate the pagan holiday Samhain under Christian supervision, the date was moved to November 1st. The day before All Saints Day (October 31st) was seen as holy or hallowed⸺hence Halloween.

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When Protestantism, a branch of Christianity, came to Britain, Halloween was no longer celebrated by churches, but it continued without a religious basis. The phrase, “Trick or Treat?” can be traced to Great Britain, where participants of Halloween would dress in costumes and masks, going house to house, to pose the question. With the looming threat that those who declined to give a treat, would receive a trick.

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For 16 centuries, this ghoulish gala has been a canvas for our wildest imaginations, inviting us to shed our everyday selves and embrace the extraordinary.

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