10/09/2026
Before Trick or Treating: The History of Halloween in Westmoreland County
Halloween was not always the holiday we recognize today, and its history is different from that of the traditional fall harvest festivals celebrated in rural Virginia.
Halloween developed from several traditions, including the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, which marked the transition into winter, and the Christian observance of All Hallows' Eve on October 31, preceding All Saints' Day. Over centuries, customs involving disguises, spirits, fortune telling, and seasonal gatherings became associated with the holiday.
In colonial Virginia, including Westmoreland County, the agricultural calendar shaped community life. Harvesting crops, preparing food for winter, and gathering with neighbors were important seasonal activities, but these were not necessarily Halloween celebrations. Colonial harvest customs should not be confused with the Halloween parties that became popular generations later.
During the nineteenth century, Irish and Scottish immigration helped spread and preserve Halloween customs in America. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, Halloween parties featuring costumes, apple bobbing, fortune telling games, and refreshments were increasingly popular across the country.
In Westmoreland County, schools, churches, and community organizations provided important gathering places during this period. Communities including Montross, Kinsale, Hague, and Colonial Beach had the kinds of social institutions through which organized holiday celebrations became popular in twentieth century Virginia. Specific early Halloween events in the county, however, still require confirmation in local records.
Trick or treating became widespread in the United States during the mid twentieth century, gradually transforming Halloween into the familiar neighborhood tradition of costumes and candy.
The distinction is important. Westmoreland's colonial harvest activities, nineteenth century social traditions, and twentieth century Halloween celebrations belong to different periods of history, even though they share the autumn season.
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Image Source: I Summon Up Remembrance of Things Past, Halloween postcard, 1915. International Art Publishing Co., New York. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
