Photo: A Halloween decoration in my neighbourhood in Toronto.

Halloween is a holiday which has been influenced by many cultures and religions over the years, and many of the words associated with Halloween have interesting origins! Let’s start with the word “Halloween” itself!

Halloween, sometimes spelled Hallowe’en, is a contraction of All Hallows’ Eve. Hallow is an old word for saint (or holy person), which is why Halloween is also known as All Saints’ Eve. For Christians, it is followed by All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Day) on Nov. 1st and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2nd. In the past, this was a time to remember the dead (including saints), but our modern Halloween has also become a celebration of supernatural horror!  

Many of the symbols of Halloween have interesting origins as well. For example, the Jack-o’-lantern (or jack o’lantern) that we know today, a contraction of Jack of the Lantern, comes from an old Irish story about a man named Stingy Jack who was not able to enter either heaven or hell when he died. Jack placed a burning coal in a carved turnip to use as a light as he wandered the earth forever. In America, pumpkins were carved instead of turnips, and these days most people imagine a pumpkin (lit by a candle) when they hear jack-o’-lantern. (Even before the story of Jack, the term jack-o’-lantern, or will-o'-the-wisp, referred to a kind of mysterious light seen at night.)

And how about the monsters of Halloween? When you hear Frankenstein, Do you imagine a big green monster? Well, Frankenstein was the name of a novel written in 1818 (more than 200 years ago!), which is about a scientist named Victor Fankenstein who creates a “creature” (sometimes called Frankenstein’s monster). Today, we use the name Frankenstein to refer to the creature rather than the scientist, and poor Victor is mostly forgotten. Another monster that comes from literature is (Count) Dracula, who is the villain of a novel from 1897 that is simply called Dracula. While some people use the word Dracula as a synonym for vampire, Dracula is in fact a very specific vampire (who is often portrayed as the first vampire or strongest vampire in popular fiction). 

That’s probably a good place to wrap up for now, but I encourage you to learn more about the fascinating origins of Halloween and the symbols, traditions, and vocabulary associated with it! Take care and have a happy and spooky Halloween!