Why do we celebrate Halloween?

About this episode

Halloween is here and if you’re anything like us, you’ll be frantically doing some last-minute pumpkin carving or stocking up on sweets for trick-or-treaters. Maybe you’re going to a Halloween party dressed up as a ghost, witch or any other kind of spooky creature. But have you ever wondered where all these quirky customs came from? While Halloween seems like a very modern celebration, its origins actually go back well over 1000 years. It started out with an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain (Sow-in). As you may know, the Celts lived in the area that is now Ireland, the UK and the north of France. They would celebrate their new year on 1st November, a night on which they believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred, with the ghosts of the dead returning to earth. Who were the first people to come up with the idea then? What about trick-or-treating and some of the other modern customs, where do they come from? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: ⁠Why is my circadian rhythm so important?⁠ ⁠Why do we enjoy being scared?⁠ ⁠What is an oil shock?⁠ A Bababam Originals podcast written and produced by Joseph Chance. First Broadcast: 31/10/2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices