Halloween's Sweet Tradition: The History of the Spooky Holiday & Ice Cream
The Origins of Halloween
Halloween's origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated on November 1st. This festival marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It was believed that on Samhain, the boundary between the living and the dead was blurred, allowing spirits to return to the world of the living.
The Roman conquest of Britain brought about a fusion of cultures. Samhain was combined with Roman festivals, including Pomona, the goddess of fruit and gardens (leading to the tradition of bobbing for apples), and Feralia, a day to honor the dead. This blending of traditions created a new festival known as Dies Feralia, or the "Festival of the Dead."
As Christianity spread, the Church sought to supplant pagan traditions with Christian ones. In the 6th century, Pope Gregory I moved All Saints' Day to November 1st, aligning it with Samhain. This Christian celebration honored saints and martyrs. The night before, October 31st, became known as All Hallows' Eve, which eventually evolved into the modern-day Halloween.
The tradition of carving lanterns, originating in Ireland and Scotland, was a significant part of early Halloween celebrations. Turnips, abundant in these regions, were carved to represent the spirits of the dead. In North America, pumpkins were adopted for this purpose. Additionally, bonfires, costumes, and food offerings were used to appease spirits and ward off evil. These customs have evolved into the modern Halloween traditions we celebrate today.
From Samhain to All Hallows' Eve: The Evolution of Halloween in the United States
During the colonial era in the United States, Halloween celebrations were often subdued and focused on religious observances but began to take on a more secular and festive character in the late 1800s, especially when Irish American immigration exploded. As the 20th century approached, communities across America began hosting Halloween parties and parades for children.
According to National Geographic, trick-or-treating may have evolved from a Christmas custom called "belsnickling," popular in the eastern U.S. and Canada. During this tradition, costumed groups would visit homes, performing tricks in exchange for treats. Some even employed fear tactics to elicit rewards. Another similar practice involved guessing the identities of disguised revelers, offering treats to those who remained unidentified.
In the 19th century, Halloween pranks, or “tricks,” often involved supernatural themes, like rattling windows or tying doors shut. To appease these pranksters, some people offered candy. These practices likely contributed to the development of the "trick-or-treat" phrase. According to etymologist Barry Popik, the earliest recorded use of this phrase in connection with Halloween appeared in a 1927 Alberta newspaper article.
One of the earliest documented instances of trick-or-treating in the United States dates to the 1920s in the city of Minneapolis, with children dressing up in costumes and going door-to-door to collect treats. The tradition of trick-or-treating quickly became popular across the U.S. and became even more popular after World War II, when rationing ended and candy was again readily available.
The Introduction of Ice Cream
As a response to pre-existing social issues, such as domestic violence and child abandonment, the United States Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment in 1917 (and later ratified in 1919), which forbid the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States. As Americans tried to cope with the loss of booze, the United States turned to another addictive substance: ice cream. With bars and saloons shuttered, soda fountains became the new social hubs for Americans.
According to the Chetopa Clipper, in 1922, Americans consumed 325 million gallons of ice cream. The demand for ice cream was so high that breweries with high refrigeration capacities began producing ice cream instead of beer, while other breweries turned to making malt. By the time Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the nation's sweet tooth was well and truly satisfied as ice cream became ubiquitous, available at every corner and in every freezer.
Ice cream naturally integrated with the rise of trick-or-treating across America during the 1920s and 30s. The commercialization of Halloween, which began to accelerate in the mid-20th century, made ice cream an integral part of Halloween celebrations. Companies started producing Halloween-themed ice cream flavors and treats to capitalize on the growing popularity of the holiday. Today, more than 100 years later, there’s a myriad of Halloween-themed flavors and combinations for individual consumption and catering packages to accommodate Halloween parties and events.
Halloween Ice Cream Fun
At Chill-N, we believe the combination of Halloween's spooky atmosphere and the indulgence of ice cream is a perfect match and our ice cream is a must-have for any Halloween celebration. We have a variety of spooky equations that we are excited about:
• Pumpkin Spice (limited edition flavor) + Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Ube + Oreos + Chocolate Sprinkles
• Yodha Matcha + Oreos
Don’t forget to bring your kids to trick-or-treat with us on Halloween as we will be giving away two free mix-ns of their choice. Leave with them or add them to an ice cream purchase for an extra sweet treat! Also, if the kids have had a little too much candy this Halloween, you can opt for our No Sugar Added Ice Cream for a healthier way to detox or savor the moment and bring in their leftover sweets to mix them into their ice cream.
Happy Halloween!
References:
Bannatyne, L. (2010). Halloween: An American holiday, an American history. Pelican Publishing Company.
Blakemore, E. (2023). How ice cream became a Prohibition-era craze. National Geographic.
Caro, F. G. (2013). Halloween: From pagan ritual to party night. University Press of America.
Guiley, R. E. (2011). The encyclopedia of witches, witchcraft and wicca. Infobase Publishing.
Morton, L. (2013). Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween. Reaktion Books.
Santino, J. (Ed.). (1994). Halloween and other festivals of death and life. University of Tennessee Press.
Sederholm, C. H., & Pyles, C. T. (Eds.). (2016). Haunted by politics: Ghosts in American culture. SUNY Press.
Skal, D. J. (2015). Death makes a holiday: A cultural history of Halloween. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Thompson, S. J. (2019). Trick or treat: A history of Halloween. National Geographic.
Zipes, J. (2017). The irresistible fairy tale: The cultural and social history of a genre. Princeton University Press.
