Origin of the word Halloween?

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Halloween or All-Hallows-Eve takes place on the night of 31 October in anticipation of All-Hallows-Day (1st November). 

  1. Hallow is the old English word for saint. It is used by all Christian denominations - as in  ‘hallowed be thy name’ in The Lord’s Prayer

  2. Halloween (Hallowe'en) is a Scottish English variation, dating back to the 1700s. The 'een' suffix is a contraction of 'evening'. 'Hallowed evening' or 'holy evening' was later understood to mean eve or 'night before' as with Christmas Eve 

  3. The word halloween was imported to the US by British and Irish immigrants. For complex religious and political reasons its commemoration has until recently it had a higher profile in America than in other English speaking countries

  4. All Hallows Day is now called All-Saints-Day in the Catholic calendar. This commemorates Christian martyrs

  5.  All Souls Day follows on 2 November. On All Souls Day Catholics pray for the 'souls of the (faithful) departed'.


Halloween FAQ - brief history of Halloween customs - free 3 min read

Halloween often features in Victorian ghost stories. Read and/or listen to E. Nesbit’s ‘Man-Made-in-Marble’ retold here.