Halloween for kids History of Halloween
The history of Halloween for kids
Halloween grew from Samhain, a festival of bonfires in Ireland and Scotland at the end of the harvest, more than a thousand years ago. The night before All Hallows' (All Saints' Day, November 1) became All Hallows' Evening, then Hallowe'en, and Irish and Scottish families brought it to America in the 1800s, where pumpkins took the place of carved turnips. This 4-minute film tells the whole story, with every chapter drawn in its own art style.
Chapters
Read what Krea and Tek say
Krea: Tek! Why do we dress up as monsters and knock on doors for candy? Who started this?
Tek: People did, more than a thousand years ago. Come on, let's go back in time!
Tek: Ireland and Scotland. The harvest is in, and the dark winter is coming. People called this night Samhain.
Krea: Samhain? It's spelled so strangely.
Tek: It is! People lit huge bonfires. And they believed that on this one night, the door between our world and the spirit world opened a crack.
Krea: So they hid?
Tek: Some wore disguises, maybe so the spirits wouldn't know who they were.
Krea: Maybe the first costumes!
Tek: Later, the church made November first All Saints' Day. Another name for it was All Hallows.
Krea: So the night before was All Hallows' Evening…
Tek: …squished together into Hallowe'en!
Krea: What did kids do?
Tek: In England, they went door to door singing songs. People gave them little round soul cakes.
Krea: Door to door for treats. That sounds familiar!
Krea: Wait. Where are the pumpkins?
Tek: There weren't any! In Ireland and Scotland, people carved faces into turnips and potatoes, and put a coal or a candle inside.
Krea: That turnip is terrifying!
Tek: That was the point. There's an old Irish story about Stingy Jack, who wandered in the dark with a turnip lantern. And a man with a lantern was called a jack-o'-lantern.
Tek: And in Scotland, kids in disguise had to do a trick first. A joke, a song, or a dance. Then they got a treat.
Krea: Trick, then treat!
Tek: In the 1800s, many Irish and Scottish families moved to America, and they brought Halloween with them.
Krea: And found pumpkins!
Tek: Big, soft, easy to carve. The pumpkin won.
Tek: For a while, Halloween night got a bit wild, with lots of pranks. So towns started throwing parties and parades instead.
Krea: And then everyone started saying "trick or treat"?
Tek: By the 1950s, kids all over America were trick-or-treating. And color comes back into the world!
Krea: Tek, is it only America and Ireland?
Tek: Not at all. In lots of places, people have a time of year to remember family and light a little flame in the dark. Let's visit!
Tek: In Mexico, it's Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, on November first and second.
Krea: Families build bright altars with orange marigolds, photos, and their grandparents' favorite foods. It's not scary. It's a happy way to remember the people they love.
Krea: In Japan, in summer, it's Obon.
Tek: Families welcome their ancestors home. At the end, some towns float paper lanterns down the river to light the way back.
Tek: In China, it's the Hungry Ghost Festival, in late summer.
Krea: People leave out food for wandering spirits and float lanterns on the water, so no spirit is lonely or hungry.
Krea: In Poland, on November first, families visit their grandparents' graves.
Tek: They light so many candles that whole cemeteries glow at night.
Krea: So everyone, everywhere, lights a little flame in the dark.
Tek: And today, the flame lives inside a pumpkin that you designed yourself.
Krea: So that's why we dress up! We get to be someone new for one night.
Tek: And make something: a costume, a mask, a monster, a pumpkin face.
Krea: Your turn. What will you make this Halloween?
Know a family who loves Halloween? Send them the film. It's free, with no account.
Halloween's cousins around the world
In lots of places, people have a time of year to remember family and light a little flame in the dark. Tap a card to play its short film.
Mexico
Día de los Muertos · November 1 and 2
Families build bright altars with orange marigolds, photos, and their grandparents' favorite foods. It's a happy way to remember the people they love.
Japan
Obon · Summer
Families welcome their ancestors home, and some towns float paper lanterns down the river to light the way back.
China
The Hungry Ghost Festival · Late summer
People leave out food for wandering spirits and float lanterns on the water, so no spirit is lonely or hungry.
Poland
All Saints' Day · November 1
Families visit their grandparents' graves and light so many candles that whole cemeteries glow at night.
One tune, many places
The film's music is one three-note tune, played the way each place and time might play it.
Free printable poster: Halloween around the world
A map with a little flame in every place from the film, and a box for your kid to add their own. Print it at home or in class.
Quick quiz
Six questions from the film. Tap an answer to see if you got it.
1 What did people in Ireland and Scotland call the night of huge bonfires at the end of the harvest?
2 Which words got squished together into "Halloween"?
3 What did kids in England get for singing door to door?
4 What did people in Ireland and Scotland carve faces into before pumpkins?
5 By when were kids all over America trick-or-treating?
6 In Poland, what do families light on November 1?
Questions parents ask
Where does Halloween come from?
Halloween grew from Samhain, a festival of bonfires that people in Ireland and Scotland held at the end of the harvest more than a thousand years ago. Later, November 1 became All Saints' Day, or All Hallows, so the night before was All Hallows' Evening, which got squished into Hallowe'en. Irish and Scottish families brought it to America in the 1800s, where pumpkins took the place of carved turnips. On Kubrio, kids 6 to 13 can turn a story like this into their own movie in the studios.
Is the film OK for young kids?
Yes. It's made for kids 6 to 13 and runs 4 minutes 28 seconds. It talks about spirits and remembering family members who died, gently, the way families in Mexico, Japan, China, and Poland do. If your kid is younger, watch it together and pause on the questions they ask. On Kubrio, Krea and Tek host the video courses too, and each one ends with something your kid made.
Can I show it in a classroom?
Yes. The film, the "Halloween around the world" poster, and the quiz on this page are free, with no account. Chapter links start the film where you need it. On Kubrio, kids 6 to 13 go on to make their own movies, games, and comics in the studios.