For 12 years Halloween was a night I entirely avoided.
Growing up in a strict, religious household, I was made to believe that Halloween was “demonic.” While most kids were out trick-or-treating in their costumes, running door to door for candy, I stayed home — convinced that going outside would invite evil in.
However, I learned that the traditions behind Halloween are more complex, rooted less in occult but more in superstition.
For families who feel uncertain about Halloween, understanding the history behind the holiday can help ease fear. Halloween traces its origins back nearly 2,000 years to the Celtic peoples, an Indo-European group who celebrated Samhain, a harvest festival marking the end of summer. Samhain blurs the line between the living and the spirit world. Celts made feasts to honor ancestors, burned bonfires and wore costumes to disguise themselves from ghosts,warding off evil spirits.
When the Romans conquered Celtic lands, they introduced Christianity, which reframed the existing Celtic traditions to fit the Christian narrative. Samhain evolved into All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 to honor saints and martyrs. When the Puritans came to colonize America, they brought these traditions with them. During the early days of the American colonies, the celebration of Halloween was forbidden as it was against Protestant beliefs. However, Halloween evolved as a more secular version of All Saints’ Day and the Samhain holiday through the 1800s.
Today, Halloween is synonymous with commercialism.
What began as an ancient Celtic tradition has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, with stores releasing Halloween merchandise months in advance and consumers eagerly purchasing for their entertainment. In 2024, the National Retail Foundation (NRF) expected consumer spending to reach $11.1 billion. The study examined spending patterns for costumes, candy, decorations and pumpkin carvings, finding that 72% of Americans spend an average of $104 for the season every year.
Halloween is associated with darkness, pointing to costumes like vampires, zombies and demons as proof that the holiday celebrates evil. But these costumes are inspired by folklore, movies and pop culture — not by any real form of worship. Dressing up as eerie characters in a play doesn’t mean someone worships evil.
Halloween serves as a night of creativity and connection. It’s a chance for people, especially teens, to express themselves, hang out with friends and take part in a shared cultural moment. Costumes have become a form of storytelling and art, not an invitation to malice. Parents should guide their children, but kids should also be given the choice to celebrate Halloween once they understand what it truly represents. The night of Halloween creates a sense of togetherness for communities that is becoming rare in modern life. Families with strong religious beliefs can still attend church harvest festivals, trunk-or-treats and pumpkin patches to experience the amusement from activities that people do. Halloween should be a reminder that the celebration is less about fear and superstition and more about community; the joy of coming together keeps old traditions alive.
