Ten Halloween Facts and Traditions You Need to Know: A Celebration of Transformation
Halloween is the most popular holiday in the world, after Christmas (based on level-of-celebration and consumer spending) and, increasingly, the most lucrative. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend $13.1 billion on Halloween in 2025 despite higher prices for everything from candy to costumes to decorations (NRF, 1).
The modern observance, though based on the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, only became popular in North America in the 1950’s and, even then, was not observed nationally. Today, Halloween is the major event of the fall season in the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom and is celebrated by almost 40 other countries worldwide.
I can understand the allure. Halloween is my favorite event of the year and I live in a small village that, much to my delight, has always celebrated Halloween with lights, decorations, haunted houses, and lots of candy, parties, and all-out fun. People from neighboring towns flock to mine on Halloween night and I think of Staatsburg as the unofficial “Halloween Village” of the surrounding area.
Up until Covid arrived in 2020, Staatsburg seemed to spare no expense in celebrating Halloween. Since then, everything has toned down a bit, unfortunately, but it’s still a fun night of people observing traditions that go back decades, centuries, and further in observing rituals whose origins, to many, are unknown. The following are a select few Halloween traditions, some still observed and others that have become relics of the past, along with some “fun facts” about Halloween, to add to this year’s Halloween fun.
Samhain & Ghosts
The modern observance is understood as originating with Samhain, the Celtic New Year’s festival, but the beliefs and rituals associated with it most likely pre-date the arrival of Celts in Ireland around 2,500 years ago. Samhain (pronounced “sow-when”, “soo-when” or “sah-win”) means “summer’s end” and marked the transition between the light days of summer and the dark days of winter.
It was recognized as a time of transition and transformation and, as such, became a liminal space – an “in-between” – spiritually, during which the veil between the land of the living and that of the dead was thinnest and the spirits of the departed could cross over. Lost loved ones could appear, and were welcomed, but darker spirits – as well as those one had wronged in life or, at least, held a grudge over something – could appear as well.
To protect oneself against these unwelcome spirits, people would darken their faces with ash from bonfires (a practice known as “guising”) which developed into the custom of wearing masks. Once masked, one could pass as one of the dark spirits, avoid recognition by any ghost looking to avenge itself, and could recognize, and then reveal oneself, to the spirit of a lost friend or family member. In time, these beliefs and practices informed modern-day Halloween rituals including bonfires, costumes, parties, community festivals and, directly or indirectly, most if not all the familiar aspects of Halloween night.
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⇒ Ten Halloween Facts and Traditions You Need to Know: A Celebration of Transformation
