Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. It takes place during my favorite season, Autumn, and incorporates some of my favorite things- movies and chocolate. Some of my favorite memories feature me sitting on a tarp, elbow-deep in pumpkin guts, chewing candy while “Monster Mash” plays through a speaker. The fall season always fills me with wistful nostalgia as I recall the fond memories of Halloween’s past. 

There are several reasons to love Halloween. Fall is without question the best time of the year. The leaves turn into beautiful warm browns, oranges, and yellows and fall to decorate the streets. The golden hour seems to last forever and you can wear a cozy sweater without getting hot. 

 For me, the costumes take the cake. There is nothing better than freezing in a last-minute costume from Walmart, begging for candy, and going home to eat it in front of an episode of Disney’s Monstober. 

There is a reason we dress up on Halloween, though. It stems from a few different ancient holidays. 

While it is impossible to be certain about the history of all holidays due to imperialism, the conquering of different religions, and the lack of definitive primary sources, historians can make fairly accurate estimations. Halloween is thought to originate from Samhain, a Celtic holiday celebrated from Oct. 31-Nov. 1 to bring in the darker half of fall and introduce winter, as well as welcome the harvest. The Celts believed the barrier between the physical world and the spirit world was permeable, allowing for creatures to pass through. To celebrate, Druids, or Celtic priests, built sacred bonfires, feasted, dressed in costumes, and reflected in forms of prayer. 

It is believed that Catholic Pope Gregory III deemed Nov. 1 All Saints Day in the eighth century. During this time, Christianity spread through the Romans to Celtic lands through imperialism and holidays merged together. This new holiday was used to honor saints and martyrs and incorporated Samhain traditions like feasts and prayer, as well as bonfires and costumes. It was also called All-hallows, leading to the night before, October 31, to be called All-Hallows Eve. This was eventually turned into Halloween. 

There is a fair bit of irony to the origins of the holiday, as the Pagans were looked down upon for celebrating something so ‘dark’, yet the Catholic Church Christianized it, and Halloween is now mass-marketed and celebrated in countries like America, where the most popular religion is Christianity. 

As a child, Halloween was a safe day to geek out over obscure characters and overly complicated costumes our parents spent hours making the night before. My mom went all the way too. When I was in the sixth grade, she spent a ridiculous amount of time gluing paper to a hollowed-out container to make the perfect cupcake costume. We laughed so hard we cried that day and ate so much candy we puked. Her creativity inspires me to this day.

I am older now and don’t have the time to binge-watch spooky Disney movies or stay up making costumes with my mom. The fall seems a little colder, my days too short and my workload too much. But it still lets me reminisce. I make time to sit down with my family and watch Hocus Pocus every year-particularly at FilmScene in the park- to keep the Halloween spirit alive. And consume copious amounts of candy, too.