Halloween in America — how did it all Started
A deep view and origins, and how to prevent your kids from overdosing on the sweet stuff from hell
American Halloween festivities have begun with new immigrants' influx and the rise of the American middle class. Halloween was born out of Irish and Scottish traditions brought to American. By 1845 more than a million Irish migrated to America, escaping the dreadful potato blight plague.
In the beginning, Halloween centered around fun and play. Children entered houses and stepped over a broom placed to keep witches out. Divining the future by burning nuts and pouring water to read shapes was also part of the fun. Bonfires were common. Some games included boys dressing as ghosts and others dressing as a devil who pretended to be grabbed by the spirits and thrown in the fire. This game did not endure in America for obvious reasons.
By 1900 Halloween started to mutate again, and this time around, it was pranks and rowdiness, common to Irish celebrations. The night belonged to mischievous boys in the rural areas. Scaring passing pedestrians, ringing doorbells, and making startling loud rattle with the “tick-tack” immensely popular Halloween noisemaker toy at the time.
