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For many, October is synonymous with one thing and one thing only: Halloween.
Photo: Getty Images
While modern-day Halloween is filled with campy creepiness, that wasnt always the case.
Below, a peek at the fascinating history ofHalloween, from its pagan beginnings until today.
Youll never look at black cat costumes and candy corn the same way again.
How did Halloween start?
Those who currently practice pagan traditions dont necessarily see it that way.
Thus, October 31 became All Hallows Eve and was eventually shortened to Halloween.
When did Halloween come to the United States?
We can thank Irelands Great Potato Famine for modern-day Halloween in the United States.
The late 1840s brought a mass migration of Irish people to the shores of America, explains Wells.
1.5 million people arrived, bringing with them the spiritual and mythic traditions that eventually blossomed into modern Halloween.
Of course, the Halloween traditions of the 1840s were a bit different than the ones we practice now.
Around the 1920s to 1930s, it evolved into a more secular and family-oriented tradition.
A Halloween scene from the filmMeet Me in St. Louis, set in 1903.
Candy and sweets were given out, yes, but as more of a bribe.
(It was trick or treat, literally.)
Around the same time, books such asThe Book of Hallowe’enandDennisons Bogie Book for Halloweenbecame popular.
Ancient roots, new jack-o-lanterns
Halloween had been thoroughly commercialized by the 1950s.
This is also when schools really got into the fun, and began organizing pumpkin-carving contests.
The prize for best jack-o-lantern?
A bag of candy corn, which was heavily marketed as the ultimate Halloween treat.
But when did Halloween become an adult holiday complete with sexy costume parties?
For that it’s possible for you to thank none other than Coors Light.
Their spokesperson?Elvira, of course.
