How Did Halloween Start and How to Celebrate with Home Decorations?

What is the history of Halloween?

There are 2 trains of thought on this. The first is that Halloween originated in the USA sometime around the 19th century, when the Irish immigrated to America. They brought their traditions and celebrations with them along with All Saints’ Day.

All Saints’ Day was a feast day on the Catholic calendar – November 1st – when you celebrated all the people that had gone to heaven. The night before All Saints’ Day people would hold a vigil for the souls that hadn’t yet gone to heaven and were trapped in purgatory. In essence, that night they would pray for the dead and this is how Halloween was born.

The second train of thought is that Christian missionaries came to the USA to convert Irish Celtics and discovered them celebrating Samhain (pronounced SAH-win) which was a festival celebrating ghostly stories and moving into a darker part of the year.

The general consensus is that the Halloween we celebrate today is a mix of the 2.

How did Halloween get its name?

The origin of the word Halloween has evolved over time. The name is a combination of the Scottish words “hallow” which loosely translates into “saint” or "holy person” and “een” which means evening.

Why do we trick or treat on Halloween?

Halloween used to be a night devoted to tricking or pulling pranks on unsuspecting people. But by the 1930’s it had turned into full blown vandalism resulting in millions of dollars of damage in some major US cities.

In an effort to stop the recurring damage on Halloween the US decided to adopt a popular Canadian tradition where the kids were offered treats so they wouldn’t go around and play tricks – and this is how trick or treating started.

Why do we wear costumes on Halloween?

This is a modern tradition where children would drape sheets over themselves and pretend to be ghosts – it has now grown into a fun and scary tradition where all sorts of costumes are worn.

Why do we carve pumpkins?

This can be traced back to Ireland and is based on the story of a man called “Stingy Jack.”

The story is that Jack was a legendary trickster who spent his time being inebriated and doing evil things. Apparently he cheated death 3 times throughout his life by tricking the devil out of taking his soul.

When Jack finally died he was not allowed into heaven due to his evil doing, but also refused entry into hell by the angry devil. Sentenced to walk through the dark for all eternity it’s said that he carries a carved out turnip with a glowing ember inside it to light his way.

The story inspired the Irish to carve faces into turnips to ward off evil spirits but when they came over to the US they found pumpkins and, as they were bigger and much easier to carve, the tradition of carving faces into pumpkins was born. This is why sometimes you will hear carved pumpkins referred to as Jack-O-Lanterns.

Why are orange and black associated with Halloween?

There’s no real reason for this apart from the fact that orange likely represents pumpkins and black represents the night, black cats and bats!

How to Decorate Your Home for Halloween?

Halloween decorations can transform your home into a spooky space! Start by placing carved pumpkins or Jack-o’-lanterns on your porch for a festive first impression. Inside, hang cobwebs, bats, and skeletons for a haunting touch. For ambiance, use orange and purple lights or flickering candles. Whether your theme is playful or ghostly, there are endless ways to personalise your decor. Here are some of our favourites from Heart Cottage Lane’s Halloween collection to add a little spookiness right in time for spooky season

And there you have it, the history of Halloween – I definitely learnt a lot! Have fun this spooky season and we would love to see how you have incorporated our Heart Cottage Lane items when decorating for Halloween. Tag us in your pictures #heartcottagelanedxb