Halloween has its earliest origins with the ancient Celtic festival Samhain, which took place on October 31 each year, marking the end of harvest season. November 1 was regarded as the beginning of the new year. The night that the last day of the year and the first day of the next shared was considered a time when the living and the dead were at their closest point. Spirits were believed to play tricks, damage crops, or visit relatives.
Later, Christianity began to spread through Europe, including the areas of Celtic peoples in today’s United Kingdom, Scotland, and northern France. As the two cultures met, they began to blend over time. The Catholic Church was not happy about pagan festivals still being fully or partially celebrated under their influence, so Pope Gregory III moved All Martyrs Day from May 13 to November 1 circa the year 735 A.D. and swapped in Saints to make it All Saints Day. But the harvest festivals continued. So in 1000 A.D., the Church announced November 2 as All Souls Day, a day to celebrate the dead. Most scholars view this as a direct attempt by the Church to take control of the harvest festivals.
Despite these efforts, the people of the Celtic areas continued to celebrate on October 31, the day before All Saints Day, which they also called All Hallow’s. October 31, in turn, was called All Hallow’s Eve or All Hallow’s Evening. It was eventually condensed to Halloween.
Halloween came to America with Catholic colonial settlers. It was most popular in Maryland and some other southern colonies. Protestant areas were often too austere in their beliefs, and would not have parties or festivals related to the dead or spirits. Later, Irish immigrants flooded America as they escaped the Irish Potato Famine in the late 1840s. Their arrival all over the country lead to a rise in popularity of Halloween celebrations.
At first, Halloween was mostly a time of community parties. Towns would get together and celebrate with fall foods, dancing, apple bobbing, decorations, ghost stories, and costumes.
In the 1910s, Halloween continued to spread throughout the country as the U.S. continued to grow. At this time, parties and gatherings were still the primary form of celebration. In Park City in 1908 “the spirit of Halloween, with all of its fun, frolic, and weirdos was abroad at the International Order of the Odd Fellows hall,” which was decorated with jack-o-lanterns, black pepper designs on the walls, “and in one corner a huge pumpkin-headed figure stood guard.” Festivities included dancing, food, a fortune teller, and socializing. But the feature of the night saw the cellar of the building turned into a “chamber of horrors, illuminated by ghostly lights, where the guests were confronted by a series of sights enlisted to freeze the blood of all mortals.”
In 1913 the Park City Fire Department held a grand masquerade ball. They even hired a costumer from Salt Lake to sell or help create costumes for any guests that requested it. Costume elements (wigs, masks, etc.) started at 50c each. The best costumes would receive prizes.
The Park City Pythian Sisters held a party in 1916 that “Was a great success in every particular.” Interestingly, the Park Record noted that this party had been “decorated in the Halloween colors: yellow and black,” as opposed to the orange, black, and purple we think of today, which became popular in the 1920s.
Aside from large parties, many families held small parties at their homes for close friends or to keep children occupied. Why? Because playing tricks and pranks was how most children celebrated Halloween, in the tradition of the spirits and fairies from the Harvest festivals’ early days.
For example, in 1912, “Jack O. Lantern held full sway at the home of E.L. Slanker Halloween night. Miss Juanita Slanker gave a Halloween birthday party for 19 of her little friends. The home was prettily decorated in yellow crepe paper and pumpkin faces peeping from every corner. A witch presided in a tent and told each little one fortunes for ‘weal or woe.’ The menu consisted of individual Jello tarts, fancy cookies, apples, and sweet cider. A flashlight was taken of the happy little ghosts and they departed at a late hour wishing little Juanita many more such happy birthdays.”
Earlier that week, the Ladies Auxilliary had hosted a party for the town’s children at the Miners’ Union Hall. But a few parties could not fully keep children distracted, as covered in this previous Way We Were.
Happy Halloween from the Park City Museum! The Museum will close at 3 p.m. tomorrow to participate in Main Street Trick-or-Treating and Howl-o-ween.