Read about the origin, history and celebration of Halloween in Canada.
Fundoo Times: Festivals: Halloween: Halloween in Canada

Halloween in Canada

Origin and History of Halloween in Canada

From the historical records it is known that Halloween developed from the ancient pagan festival observed by Celtic (present UK, Ireland and northwestern France) people over 2000 years ago. This Pagan festival was celebrated under the name Samhain which means summer’s end. Later in pre-Christian times, people celebrated this festival by dressing up as ghosts. They believed that by doing this the real ghost will return back to its world. During the Christian era (around 800’s), the churches decided to observe All Saints’ Day on November 1st, to remember the souls of saints. The evening before All Saints’ Day is called All Hallows Eve, it is abbreviated as All Hallowe’en which got further shortened to Halloween.

Local name: Halloween

Ways to celeberate Halloween in Canada

Although Halloween is not a federal holiday in Canada, people celebrated the event with great zeal. Many decorate their homes and backyards to showcase the theme of graveyards and ghosts. They invite neighbors and friends to view their creation and for a themed party. These parties include Halloween symbols such as pumpkin lanterns, cobwebs, skeleton miniatures etc. Some people organize fancy dress parties, while the kids and adults wear scary masks and other horror freak costumes. Some of the kids enjoy the holiday by playing trick -or- treat. They dress up as ghosts and visit their neighbors and ask for sweets or presents. If the visitors do not get what they want the neighbors would have to play a trick. Any holiday or celebrations is incomplete without food, the Halloween feast includes toffee apples, roasted corn, pumpkin bread, popcorn etc.