History of Halloween in Australia

Halloween finds its beginning as a Celtic Pagan festival called Samhain about 6000 years ago. The festival marked the end of Summer and the harvest season. It was believed that the veil between the living and the dead was very thin at this time of year. A huge bonfire would be lit to herald the beginning of Winter.

In the 8^th century Pope Gregory III decreed that November 1^st be a day to honour all Saints of the Holy Catholic Church, calling it ‘All Saints Day/All Hallows Day. The evening before was called ‘All Hallows Eve’, later known as Halloween, incorporating some Samhain traditions.

However, it wasn’t until the time of the Australian Goldrush that Scottish Halloween Balls were held. Halloween was first celebrated in Australia in Castlemaine, Victoria in 1858. Gold had been discovered in Castlemaine a few years earlier and had become a prosperous town. On Friday, October 29^th the ‘Castlemaine Select Scottish Ball’ was held at the Red Hill Hotel.

Scottish (Caledonian) Societies across Australia celebrated Halloween each year with a grand ball. Venues were decorated with black and orange decorations of black cats, ghosts, bats, witches’ hats and streamers. Guests wore fancy dress, including kilts and bagpipes were played. There was a dinner of traditional Scottish foods such as haggis and Scottish jigs and reels were played to inspire dancing. There were two popular Robert Burns poems that were often recited on this occasion, ‘Hallowe’en’ and ‘Tam O’ Shanter’.

The current version of Halloween finds its origins in the USA. In the 1700’s Scottish immigrants brought their Samhain/Halloween traditions with them to their new home. Irish immigrants did likewise in the 1800’s. The Halloween festivities developed over the past 200 – 300 years.

Jenny Alfonso

Bibliography

Halloween 2024.

https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

(accessed 17 October 2024)

Thomas (2021). The Origins of Halloween Traditions. Library Congress of Blogs.

https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/#:~:text=Yet%2C%20the%20Halloween%20holiday%20has,costumes%20to%20ward%20off%20ghosts.

(accessed 17 October 2024)

Photograph

Allen Family Albums, Mitchell
Library, State Library of NSW