Halloween began over 2,000 years ago with Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of harvest. The Celts believed that on October 31, the veil between the living and the dead grew thin, and spirits could cross over. People lit bonfires, left out food for wandering spirits, and wore animal skins to disguise themselves from anything unfriendly.
When Christianity spread, November 1 became All Saints’ Day, and the night before became “All Hallows’ Eve,” eventually shortened to Halloween.
The jack-o’-lantern started in Ireland, not with pumpkins, but turnips, carved to scare off evil spirits. The legend: a trickster named Stingy Jack, doomed to wander the earth forever with only a glowing coal inside a carved turnip to light his way. When Irish immigrants reached America, pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve, and the rest is history.
Even trick-or-treating has old roots. Medieval children went door to door in costume offering prayers for food, a custom called “souling.” Candy didn’t take over until after WWII, when sugar rationing ended.
Orange and black? Straight from Samhain: orange for harvest and fire, black for winter and the spirit world.
I love uncovering the real history hiding behind the traditions we celebrate without ever asking why. And Christmas has an even bigger one.
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A free way to start the conversation now
You don't need the book or to be ready to answer the question yet to start teaching your kids that they have the power to create magic, miracles, and joy for others. I made a free companion printable, the Miracle Maker, that walks kids through the same idea in the book: Magic doesn't happen to you, it happens through you.
It includes:
A page where your child plans their own "Secret Miracle": who they'll help, what they'll do, and how they'll keep it a secret
Conversation starters for grown ups and kids to brainstorm ideas together
A list of trusted, kid safe places to send cards, grant a child's Christmas wish, or give to a charitable cause
A Miracle Log and an official Miracle Maker certificate
Print it out, grab your kids, and let them decide how they'll make an ordinary day extraordinary for someone else. That's how Santa’s spirits continues to be real. That’s how his miracles and generosity have continued and will continue for millennia. Not because we tell kids to believe, but because we show them how to become the reason someone else does.