There are so many interesting and unanswered questions about Halloween: Why do we celebrate Halloween? Why do we go trick or treating? Why do we dress up in scary costumes? Why do we get candy on Halloween? 

Have you ever wondered how Halloween got started? Was it invented by candy sellers? It might seem strange to you now, but the celebration of Halloween goes back hundreds of years, to a time when people’s lives were deeply connected to the land, the food it produced, and the changing of the seasons. 

In essence, Halloween started as a celebration of the Earth’s bounty, and as preparation for the coming dark days of winter. Read to see where all the modern traditions associated with Halloween came from and how they changed over the centuries to become the holiday we love and celebrate today. 

For Parents: 

It’s easy to dismiss Halloween as a ploy to sell more candy. 

The holiday, however, is steeped in ancient symbolism and carries a deeper meaning about the rhythm of the seasons and our eternal connection to the earth. Understanding the roots of the holiday, which began as a harvest festival, helps make it a more meaningful celebration than simply the exchange of candy. 

This book aims to present the history of Halloween in clear, simplified terms, so that kids, and families, can begin to appreciate the rich symbolism and ancient customs of the holiday. 

Halloween is a complex, multi-layered celebration with lots of influences and traditions. It marks a time of transition between seasons – the end of summer and the beginning of the dark days of winter. This ancient celebration was a way for people to understand nature and to try to influence and control it. 

As modern society becomes more estranged from food production and nature, the traditions that formed Halloween remind us that we are intricately connected to the land, the food it produces, and the changing seasons. 

About this book: 

Fully illustrated with color photographs that aim to recreate the mood, feeling and atmosphere of the ancient festival. They are not intended to be historically accurate.  This book focuses on the pagan roots of Halloween and the Celtic celebration of Samhain. It does not address the Christian aspects of the festival, such as All Hallows’ Eve.  The objective of this book is to introduce children to the history of Halloween, and its beginnings as a fall harvest celebration, and to get them to observe and think about the origins of other modern festivals and traditions. Topics discussed in this book:  The Celtic Samhain harvest festival and its connection to Halloween. The significance of the changing of the seasons to people’s lives. And why ancient people celebrated these changes with feasts. Where Halloween symbols and traditions come from: Jack-O-Lanterns, trick or treating, costumes and masks, and the association of Halloween with witches, ghosts and demons.  Includes a “Things to Talk About” section with suggested topics for discussion and further research: The importance of the cycles of nature to our daily lives. Exploring other festivals that celebrate seasonal changes. Researching sacred foods associated with feasts and festivals. Taking notice of other ancient customs that we still practice today and talking about how they get passed down through the ages.  Looking up unfamiliar and new terms used in the book.