Halloween. Arguably the most entertaining, creative, and fun time of the year. As the leaves turn, and the weather gets chillier, the costumes come out, and so does the spookiness. With all this pent up, scary energy throughout the year, it’s hard to remember how this ghostly holiday came to be.
As we all know, October 31st is the notorious day for the spooky season, but why? Well, in the olden days, somewhere around the eighth century, over in the Western Europe, a Celtic festival of Samhain started it all.
A man named Pope Gregory lll assigned November 1st as the day of the saints. Because of this, October 31st was named Old Hallows Eve. As time went on, the saints used the same practices as people during the Samhain Festival.
Rituals used in this nationwide festival were created to deter ghosts, and also to mark the end of the harvest season. As you can imagine, they dressed up in flashy costumes, participated in dances, and had bon fires.
As Old Hallows Eve gained traction, it eventually became known as the same bone-chilling holiday we know today, Halloween.
Here at Charles Page, Halloween is highly appreciated and partaken of. My curiosity piqued, I thought about peoples opinions regarding this holiday. I took it upon myself to find the true feelings towards Halloween! I took a moment to sit with a true Halloween-fiend, Mrs. Howard.
Winning Multiple costume awards, and participating in many competitions, her family really knows how to dress up and celebrate the spooky season. During this interview, I asked her what her favorite costume memory was. She mentioned an epic, jaw dropping Star-Wars themed family costume–with Mrs. Howard as Princess Leia, Mr. Howard as a Dune Raider, and their son as legendary Han Solo.
Another interviewee, Cage Gilmore, gave me his favorite things to do during this time of year. Every year, he goes to a nursing home to help and give back, and he also loves to trick or treat!
Though Halloween is very stigmatized, and shown to be scary and evil, it is full of fun memories and sweet candy. Stay safe, and have a fun Halloween this year!
I am a senior XC/track runner, and also a writer for the CPHS Sandtonian.
