All Hallows' Eve

Origin and history

Halloween is short for All Hallows' Eve, the evening before All Hallows' (All Saints') Day. 'Hallow' is an old English word for holy, or a saint. The evening begins Allhallowtide, three days of remembering the saints, martyrs and all the faithful departed. Historians disagree about how much the popular customs owe to Celtic harvest festivals such as the Gaelic Samhain; some scholars say Halloween began as a Christian holiday on its own.

Customs

• Church services on the eve of All Saints' Day.
• In some places people traditionally ate meatless foods such as apples, potato pancakes and soul cakes.
• Souling and guising, going door to door for treats, which are related to modern trick-or-treating, and carving turnips or pumpkins into lanterns.
• Lutherans and other Protestants also keep 31 October as Reformation Day.

How traditions differ

During the Reformation in Britain, some of these customs came under attack from Protestants who rejected the doctrine of Purgatory.

More in After Pentecost

Trinity Sunday · Corpus Christi · Nativity of St John the Baptist · Sts Peter and Paul · Michaelmas · Reformation Day · All Saints' Day · All Souls' Day · St Martin's Day (Martinmas) · Christ the King