For many of us, Halloween is one of our favourite holidays thanks to costume creativity, the decorations, and, of course, all that candy. Halloween is the oldest, continuously celebrated holiday in the world and it’s all thanks to Celtic folklore.
Halloween dates back over 2,000 years when it was once called Samhain (pronounced sow-wen) in the area of world we now know as Ireland. According to legend, people during Samhain believed it was the time when spirits of the dead would come back and where mischievous Gods would play tricks on people. To ward off these spirits, villagers would hand out offerings such as food to please these Gods. It’s also believed Samhain was actually celebrated on November 1st because it was considered the first day of the Celtic new year.
In addition to offerings, people would dress up to confuse the spirits of the dead and carve turnips in an attempt scare away ghosts. Numerous sources indicate that pumpkin carving didn’t start until the 1800’s when Irish immigrants moved to North America.
Today, Halloween is big business thanks to candy and decoration sales in the billions of dollars. In fact, Statistics Canada estimates Canadians will spend nearly $1.8 billion on candy and cookies for this spooky season with the average Canadian household expected to spend about $53 on candy in 2025. According to a survey from Leger, residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are least likely to decorate their home and property this Halloween while folks in the Atlantic region are most likely to decorate.
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