Halloween, A History

 Halloween, A History

Our story begins over 2,000 years ago with a festival called “Samhain.” Samhain was an ancient Celtic festival celebrated on November 1^st. People believed that on the night before Samhain, the dead would return from the grave to roam the earth. People would leave offerings of food and wine on their doorstep to ward off evil spirits, as well as wear masks when they went out. Wearing these masks made the spirits believe that they were fellow ghosts, inorder for the people to be left alone. In the 8^th century, the Catholic churched turned November 1^st into All saint’s day. This was a day to honor Saints and other clergy who had passed away. October 31^st was renamed “All Hallows eve,” which was later shortened to Halloween.

The idea of trick or treating on Halloween comes from mid-evil times in Great Britain. On November 2^nd, also known as “All Soul’s Day,” needy people would go door to door souling or guising. They would beg for small pastries called “Soul cakes” and in return they would pray for people’s dead relatives. This was called souling. Children would dress up in costumes and tell jokes, sing, or recite poetry in exchange for food, wine, and money. This was called guising.

In the 19^th century, Scottish and Irish immigrants to America revived these traditions. The result was trick-or-treating. At first it was more about the tricking, and people would play pranks or get into other mischievous hijinks. It wasn’t until the 1950s the holiday took on its family-centered, kid friendly form. Today, Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday; second only to Christmas.

With costumes and candy, it is estimated that Halloween is a 6 billion dollars a year industry! With those numbers, it’s safe to say that Americans love Halloween. Here at Varsity we are no different. We get very excited every year for this night and we want to share our excitement with China! That is why we will be holding our second annual Halloween Fright Night haunted tour of Varsity. We have already started planning our treats, our tricks, and most importantly, our scares. 

The fun starts October 28^th with a special dance competition. Come in costume and bring your best dance moves for a chance to win free admission to our haunted house the following day, October 29^th. We had an amazing turnout last year, and we have already started working to make this year’s even better. Stop by…..If you dare…..

  The authors：

- former High School Cheerleader

-former University of Missouri Cheerleader

-UCA staff and Head instructor 7 years

-10 years experience coaching at the High School, College, and Competitive level of Cheerleading