Halloween, commonly known as “All Hallows Eve,” will be celebrated this year on Monday, October 31st. It is usually associated with carving pumpkins, eating candy, watching scary movies, dressing up in fun costumes with tons of makeup, trick-or-treating, and attending Halloween parties.
A fun fact about Halloween candy purchases is according to Statistica.com “During the 2022 Halloween season, consumers in the United States spent about 3.1 billion dollars on Candy”!
But where did this celebration come from? According to History.com, some traditions of All Hallows Eve arose from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, about 2000 years ago, where bonfires and costumes were used to provide protection against ghosts.
The Celts at the time were located in what is now contemporary Ireland, England, and Northern France. The main concept of “All Hallows Eve” was to mark the end of summer and the beginning of winter, which at that time was associated with death and hardship.
Días De Los Muertos, Day of the Dead in English, is a holiday similar to All Hallows Eve that occurs from October 31- November 2. But unlike All Hallows Eve, this is more uplifting and commemorates the dead. According to, a History.com article Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos), this celebration “go[es] back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.”
The origins of this celebration come from “The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life.”
To celebrate the holiday at JCCC, the Student Lounge will be hosting the Haunted Lounge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 25 to Oct. 27. According to Kristin Boeckmann, a student life ambassador at JCCC, the things in the haunted student lounge will be “farm themed with farm-themed props, actors and acoustics to make it scarier.”
Other Halloween-themed campus events include a showing of the movie, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a “Halloween Costume Party,” a “Trick or Treat for Kids”, and a “Dia De Los Muertos Celebration”.
“Trick or Treat for Kids” on Oct. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. is presented by the Center for Student Involvement and Student Senate. The Campus Ledger will also be passing out candy at the event located in the COM Atrium. To find out more information about these events visit JCCC’s Get Involved page.
Eliana Klathis, features editor
A very interesting and easy to digest article!