Have you ever wondered why do people decorate for Halloween and where did it come from? Celebrated every year on October 31st, Halloween is a popular celebration. Creating a spooky atmosphere at home and in the community, there’s trick-or-treating, costumes, and elaborate decorations. The origins of this celebrations go back along way, stretching into a time where Halloween looked nothing like it does today.
Halloween has its roots in ancient rituals, religious festivals, and cultural traditions that have evolved over centuries. To be honest, understanding the full history of Halloween may never be possible. This is because of the number of influences that have made what it is today. But by looking at some of the history surrounding this celebration we can get an insight into why we now decorate our homes with ghosts, goblins, and pumpkins.
Join us as we delve into the origins of Halloween décor:
- The Influence of Christianity: All Saints’ Day and All Hallows’ Eve
- The Rise of Halloween in America
- Carving pumpkins: A decoration with a long history
- Why Do We Decorate Our Houses for Halloween?
- Modern Halloween Decorations
Ancient Origins: The Celtic Festival of Samhain
The origins of Halloween traces back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced “sow-an”). Samhain began on the night of the 31st October, continuing into the day of the 1st November. Even though the date of Samhain is 1st November. This is because for the Celts the day began at sunset and ended at sunset.
Mentioned in Irish literature dating back to the 9th century, Samhain was a celebration marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark period of winter. Samhain celebrated the shift in daylight that still happens today with daylight savings time, only Samhain went further.
It was also said that this was the night when the veil between the spirit world of the dead and the human world was at its thinnest. This causes the boundary between the worlds to become blurred allowing spirits to return to Earth.
At sunset on Samhain Celts lit bonfires and wore costumes made of animal heads and skins to ward off the wandering spirits. The Celts dressed like they believed evil spirits would dress to save themselves from harm. They also believed that the spirits of the dead might cause trouble or damage crops, so they performed rituals to protect themselves. Good spirits, those of their ancestors, were welcomed in a move which closely resembles the ideas of the Day of the Dead, which is notably held on 1st and 2nd November.
Offerings of food and drink were also left outside homes in attempts to appease the otherworldly visitors, a practice that some say eventually led to the tradition of trick-or-treating. Some also say it forms part of the reasoning behind the question: why do people decorate for Halloween?
The Influence of Christianity: All Saints’ Day and All Hallows’ Eve
As Christianity spread across Celtic territories, Celtic festivals like Samhain are believed to have integrated into Christian tradition. However, sources state that All Saints Day was recognised as early as the 4th century before being designated as a feast in the 8th century and the celebration moved to November 1st.[1]
The fact that the dates in the Christian calendar bear a resemblance to Samhain, other seasonal celebrations, and Halloween celebrations as we know them today, is perhaps purely coincidental. Nonetheless comparisons can be drawn.
Between the 31st October and the 2nd November some Christian faiths recognise the following days:
31st October: All Hallows Eve: It marks the celebration of All Hallowtide: where you rejoice and celebrate the dead.
1st November: All Saints Day: Celebration of all the saints in heaven who do not have a day where they are recognised individually.
2nd November: All Souls Day: A day of prayer and remembrance for those who have departed this world including relatives, friends, and strangers.
The Christianized version of Halloween shares obvious similarities with the Celtic Samhain.
As part of All Saint’s Day in medieval Britain people would go ‘Souling’. This is when people would go door-to-door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food. Many people believe that this is where the idea of trick-or-treating may have come from.
The Rise of Halloween in America
People id not begin celebrating Halloween in America until some time in the 19th century. Irish immigrants celebrated the Christian version of All Souls Day and people think this is how the idea of Halloween came to America. Doris Hudson Moss is largely given credit for first using the words ‘trick or treating.’ The refence is found in her 1939 article “A Victim of the Window-Soaping Brigade” in The American Home.[2] If you assume that from the date of this publication trick or treating became a common event on Halloween it would be fair to assume that Halloween as we know it today was taking shape.
Decorating for Halloween goes as far back as 1909. This date is from the first publication of a book called Dennison’s Bogie Book. It was a commercial venture from a paper company who would go on to publish a Bogie Book annually for around 20 years. This book shows that decorating for Halloween was something that people were doing at this time.
As time continued and the way we decorated changed so to did Halloween decorations for the home. By the early 20th century Halloween decorations morphed to represent the technological advances in society.
Carving pumpkins: A decoration with a long history
Carving a pumpkin to celebrate Halloween dates back to the Irish myth of Stingy Jack. This is the story of a man who was not very nice. They say he tricked the devil and captured him. In return for setting the devil free the devil had to agree never to take Jack’s soul. The devil kept his word when Jack died. However, this meant Jack had no place in heaven or hell. So, he is said to have been trapped in purgatory. The devil gave him a coal which Jack put in a turnip and roamed the earth with.
In America, pumpkins were more readily available and easier to carve than turnips and so the Jack O’Lantern was born. It has been a staple of house decorations and a symbol of Halloween since Irish immigrants entered the US bringing their stories with them. The carvings on the pumpkins are meant to ward off evil spirits and Stingy Jack.
Why Do We Decorate Our Houses for Halloween?
Decorating homes and providing offerings around the dates of 31st October to 2nd November is a tradition that has been going on for thousands of years. The way we decorate homes has changed from holding communal bonfires and leaving offerings on the step, to more decorative and symbols focusing on supernatural themes.
The reason why you decorate homes for Halloween has its roots in tradition. But there are a few other reasons that explain why people choose to decorate their homes.
Keeping Spirits at Bay
The Celts believed in keeping evil spirits at bay on the eve when the veil between the spirit world and the living world wanes. Some people like to believe in the possibility of Halloween even though it is just superstition, the tradition of creating a spooky atmosphere on the night of the 31st October has continued.
Community and Fun
Halloween has always been a community-oriented celebration, even in its earliest potential incarnation. In the 20th century, as Halloween became more popular in the U.S., neighborhoods would engage in decorating their homes and hosting parties, Decorations became a way to invite trick-or-treaters and showcase a love for the holiday.
Commercial Influence
With its rise in popularity Halloween became a commercial holiday too, with shops encouraging people to decorate with Halloween décor. Selling products with spooky motifs and pumpkins, decorating for Halloween is part of commercial culture in 2024.
Today, Halloween is one of the most commercial holidays in the U.S. Americans spend billions on costumes, candy, and decorations each year. This retail explosion has led to bigger, bolder, and more elaborate displays, ranging from cute and family-friendly to terrifyingly realistic haunted houses.
Cultural Symbols
Many of the decorations we associate with Halloween, such as black cats, witches, and bats, come from the folklore and superstitions that have developed over centuries. Black cats were once considered the familiars of witches and bats the shape-shifting forms of vampires. By decorating with these symbols, people tap into the rich history of Halloween’s spooky elements, which lie in culture, literature, and superstition.
Modern Halloween Decorations: A Fusion of Fun and Fright
Today, Halloween decorations vary widely depending on the mood you want to create both inside and outside your home. Not everyone celebrates Halloween. But for those who do, today’s décor offers a range of products to suit nearly any taste.
Playful, whimsical décor with smiling pumpkins, inflatable ghosts, and strings of orange lights, celebrate both Halloween and Autumn. While other décor embraces the darker and more gruesome side of Halloween with frightening displays of skeletons and gravestones. Even animatronic monsters become part of home décor during Halloween as people express their own understanding of Halloween.
In addition to traditional Halloween symbols, modern pop culture also plays a big role in the way people decorate their homes. Characters from horror movies, TV shows, and video games often make their way into lawn displays. Blending the mythology and superstitions of the cultural past with contemporary media definitions of Halloween.
The beauty of Halloween is it’s ability to evolve with our culture. What other celebration is there where personal expression defines décor to the point of such an amazingly diverse display of what Halloween truly is?
Conclusion
Halloween’s evolution has, and will continue to be, changed by centuries of cultural and religious influences. Decorating homes for Halloween has transformed into a way for people to express creativity, build community spirit, and enjoy a bit of harmless fun. Whether spooky, cute, or downright terrifying, Halloween decorations bring the home to life. It’s a celebration of tradition that will hopefully continue for many more centuries.
