By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I guess what I find most appealing about it is the sense of community we all feel on Halloween. After all, it is the only night of the year when it is socially acceptable to show up unannounced at people’s homes. The energy extended by spirited people in costume and the eerie glow from homes lit with Jack O’Lanterns aptly mark the final act in New England’s most glorious season, fall.

As much as I love Halloween, it falls victim to the heavy commercialism of so many of our holidays. Americans spent an estimated $6.9 billion dollars on Halloween last year, second only to Christmas. We buy orange and black decorations, costumes, pumpkins and more candy then we have purchased in the past ten months combined. It makes me wonder how these practices, and the vast expenditure that accompanies them, have become so ingrained in our culture. We all know why we celebrate the other major holidays, but do we all know why we celebrate Halloween?

Halloween’s origins date back to Celtic traditions from over 2,000 years ago. The Celts calendar year began on November 1 and marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. This was a time to store crops, move cattle and sheep from outlying pastures closer to home and secure livestock for the coming winter. It was also a time to celebrate Samhain, the pagan lord of the dead.

The Celtic priests met on the eve of the new year and built huge bonfires to honor the dead and keep evil spirits away. Animals, fruits and vegetables were sacrificed to their gods, while the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness began. Costumes of animal heads and skins were worn and fortunes for the new year were told. The colors of black and orange prevailed, as black represented the time of darkness and orange, the color of the sun.

The tradition of carving pumpkins also comes from the Irish, who would place candles in carved-out turnips and leave them on their doorsteps on Halloween to ward off evil spirits. The Irish too are credited with starting the tradition of trick or treating. In preparation for All Hallow’s Eve, their annual harvest festival, townspeople in Ireland would visit neighbors to ask for food contributions.

Thousands of years later, when New England was first settled, some of these ancient traditions still prevailed.  While our heavily religious settlers frowned on most of the Halloween customs from their homelands, public events were still held in the end of October to celebrate the harvest. At these celebrations, stories of the dead were told and it was a time to predict the fortunes of their friends and neighbors.

It is fascinating that the main point of Halloween now seems to be giving masqueraded children pounds of white sugar, as if that is something they need. Wouldn’t it be more festive, and less expensive, to light huge bonfires, invite your friends and neighbors over and reflect on the past year?  Oh alright, and the kids can have a few pieces of candy too.