As the early Catholic Church spread its teachings across largely pagan Britain, it needed a hook to sell the religion. Incorporating rituals of Celtic end-of-summer festivals into a minor Christian holiday, the Church created All Hallows Day (All Saints Day) and with it, All Hallows Eve, the night-before festivities in which the Celts were given license to exercise their pre-Christian urges.
Later, poor Scottish and Irish children used the holiday as an excuse to go “souling”, or traveling door-to-door in costumes begging for food. And when those Scots and Irish came to America as immigrants, they brought their traditions with them. And Halloween, as we know it, began to take shape.
