Not Everyone Celebrates Halloween

Did you know about 600 million pounds of Halloween candy is sold in the U.S. every year? That’s about the equivalent of 24,000 school buses! 

But candy wasn’t a part of the holiday for a very long time. Originally the Celts celebrated Samhain, which marked the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It was believed that this was the time when the ghosts of the dead could come back. Once the Romans conquered the Celts, some of their traditions were combined. The festival of Samhain was eventually tied in with the Catholic celebration of saints, All Saints Day, or All-Hallowmas, with the night before called All-Hallows Eve, or Halloween.

When the Puritans and Pilgrims came to America, Halloween was not widely celebrated, as these were Protestant and Church of England factions. But once other Europeans arrived, the holiday began to gain momentum and new customs were created.

Since Halloween is such a big deal in America—we spend about half a billion dollars on costumes for our PETS alone!—it can be hard to remember that not everyone celebrates the holiday. Orthodox Jews and Muslims don’t celebrate it, since the origins are in Christianity. Some Christians don’t celebrate Halloween because they see it as a pagan holiday. Jehovah Witnesses don’t celebrate Halloween. There are also some people who believe that trick-or-treating is dangerous for children, or that simply too much money is spent on candy and costumes, and would prefer not to take part.

Just remember, one of the cornerstones of our society is freedom of religion. That means regardless of whether your coworker or neighbor observes Halloween, you should respect their beliefs. And that just means there’s more candy for the others!