History of Halloween in Canada
History of Halloween in Canada
How did Halloween traditions make their way to Canada? Read on to find out!
By Liz Dommasch, County Archivist
With Halloween soon approaching, I thought it might be fun to delve into the history of the holiday in Canada. Halloween celebrations were introduced to North America in the mid-1800s with the massive influx of Irish and Scottish immigrants who brought along their customs and traditions from Europe. These practices can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain that marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.
One of the Halloween customs brought to Canada by Scottish and Irish Immigrants was the jack-o’-lantern. The tradition was derived from the 17th century myth of Stingy Jack. According to Irish folklore, Stingy Jack was a “drunkard and a cheat” who was refused entry into both Heaven and Hell, and therefore was condemned to roam the world between the living and the 
dead. With only an ember from Hell to light his way, he kept it in a carved-out turnip lantern and thus, was known as Jack of the lantern or Jack o’-Lantern.
Originally jack-o’-lanterns were hollowed-out turnips, beets or potatoes, carved to show a demonic face and lit from the inside by a candle. These vegetables were placed on doorsteps, or in windows, to frighten away Stingy Jack and other evil spirits. When Irish and Scottish immigrants came to Canada they brought the custom with them and adapted it to the native North American pumpkin. As the pumpkin is a larger and naturally hollow vegetable, it made the process of carving much easier!
The practice of wearing costumes and masks, can be traced back to Celtic Halloween customs, as a way to disguise oneself and ward off harmful spirits. Likewise, the practice of begging for offerings from a household dates back to the Middle-ages. Originally known as souling or mumming, the poor would offer to sing prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes. As Halloween celebrations became more secular, this practice was adopted by children who would sing songs, recite poems or perform tricks for nuts, fruit and coins. By the 19th Century, the practice of dressing children in disguise had become a popular yearly event.
In Canada, the first recorded instance of children dressing in disguise on Halloween was in Vancouver, B.C., in 1898, whereas, the first recorded use of the term trick or treat was in the Lethbridge Herald on November 4th, 1927, in reference to festivities in nearby Blackie, Alberta. By the 1920s trick or treating, along with Devil’s Night, had become commonplace across the country.
During the Second World War, trick or tricking waned, due primarily to sugar rations, but increased in popularity in the 1950s with the country’s economic growth and the rise of the suburbs (which made trick or treating door to door a lot quicker!).
On October 31st, many of us may remember asking for candy as well as spare change. In 1955, the Trick-or-Treat UNICEF campaign was introduced in Canada and remained until 2006. I fondly recall carrying the familiar orange collection box, in one hand, and my loot bag in the other, as we made our way across the neighborhood.
Archivist Liz with her sister dressed in costume for Halloween - circa 1985
With the COVID-19 pandemic still occurring, this year will mark a historic Halloween as we find ways to still celebrate the holiday, while remaining safe and healthy. The Archives would love to hear your stories of how you chose to celebrate this year, as part of our ongoing documentation of the pandemic. Please send any stories, photographs, artwork, etc. to archives@oxfordcounty.ca
In the meantime, please visit our website for some fun printable activity sheets related to the history and traditions of Halloween, that includes recipes, crafts, word scrambles and more!
Likewise, if you haven’t seen our video series on the Dark Tales of Oxford, please check out the County’s YouTube channel.
Happy Halloween!