The True Christian Roots of Halloween Many people today assume that Halloween began as a pagan festival, but history tells a different story. The celebration we now call “Halloween” — originally All Hallows’ Eve — began entirely as a Christian feast. Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV, who established and popularized the vigil of All Saints’ Day, were never influenced by Celtic harvest festivals like Samhain. There’s simply no historical evidence that they even knew of it. Just because a pagan fes