Halloween is observed the eve of Oct. 31st and followed by All Hallows Day on Nov. 1st. Halloween began as a Celtic festival of the dead called Samhain or All Hallows Eve, dating back to 700 B.C. In American popular culture Halloween is a night of "trick-or-treating" by neighborhood children in costumes. The holiday arrived courtesy of Irish and Scottish emigrants who brought stories of Celtic charms, spells, tales of hobgoblins, and evil spirits with them to North America in the 1840, during the Irish potato famine. Samhain was observed to celebrate the end of summer and the coming of winter, the Celtic new year. It marked the third and final harvest and provision storage for the new year. Sacred fires and fire rituals marked the solar festival. During Celtic times, all fires but those of Samhain were extinguished. Burning victims in wicker cages were sacrificed, all other fires were extinguished and relit from this sacrificial fire. Householders were charged a fee for any fires buring at alters. It was a time for shedding weakness. This was symbolized by slaughtering weak animals that had no chance of surving the harsh winter ahead. Other common rituals practiced were that of writing weakness on paper and burning the parchment. Cakes and other baked good were also offered to the souls of the dead. These were called soul cakes.

The modern practice of trick or treating may have originated through several old practices. One of them being the Irish custom of peasents begging for soul cakes and other offerings.This was done as an attempt to retrieve contributions for the Celtic figure Muck Olla, who would eventually punish those too stingy to oblige, through pranks on Halloween.

It is believed that on all Hallow's Eve, the souls of the dead roamed the earth freely, in their quest to the afterlife. Witches, devils and other spirits were believed to be at the peak of their supernatural powers, making the communication between the living and the dead much easier. Costumes were worn in an attempt to ward off the evil spirits, well as the carving of turnips. Today, we carve pumpkins as a symbol of the holiday.

Halloween / Festivals of the Dead were, and are, celebrated in countries such as Ireland (Samhein, Feast of the Sun) and Scotland (Hallowe'en), Mexico (Fiesta de la Muertos) and the Indians celebrate Divalo, a Hindu holiday on November 2. In Ireland today, many celebrations involve bonfires. In areas of modern Scotland, young people celebrate by dancing around bonfires called Hallowe'en bleeze. The Romans celebrated the holiday as Feralia and celebrated it in February, the end of the Roman year.

Traditions

Costuming In the beginning, the Celts dressed in costume for Samhain for several reasons. They were worn to ward off evil entities that were presumed to be roaming the earth on that night. They were also worn in ceremonies to become closer to their gods. Later when the holiday turned to the Christian All Hallow's Eve, folks were still superstitious of malevolent forces and continued to diguise themselves by dressing in costume to confuse the spirits. Others costumes were worn by begging peasants that performed antics in exchange for food and provisions while "going-a-souling". Today, costumes of modern themes are worn at Halloween by children going trick or treating and by adults seeking fun and amusement.

Trick Or Treating The modern custom of trick or treating may have originated from several old customs, all similar. The first being the practice of Irish priests wearing masks while going door to door, begging for soul cakes and other items for the Celtic House Of Worship. Souls cakes were baked goods offered to souls of the departed as an attempt to appease the Celtic god Muck Olla. Another custom was that of the Protestant Church in an effort to help the poor. During harvest time, the needy were encouraged to travel from house to house to gather food. This was called "going-a-souling". Prayers for the recently deceased from the needy were exchanged with the giving family. Those not offering goods were usually punished with a trick on Halloween night or hexed with misfortune for the next year. Today, young children go from door to door and ask for candy and other treats on Halloween.

Bobbing For Apples For thousands of years, apples have been considered a symbol of love and fertility. Which makes me question why they are associated with Halloween festivities considering that Samhain was a festival to honour the dead. At any rate, bobbing for apples was a way of divination among the Druids and is still practiced among some today. Apple bobbing is derived from the Druidic ceremony Ordeal by Watere. This signifies the passage of soul to the hereafter over the waters that separated them. It used to be called "snapping for apples".

Pumpkin Carving Traditionally, the jack-o-lantern was carved from a turnip, potato, or beet and lit with a burning lump of coal or a candle. These lanterns represented the souls of the departed loved ones and were placed in windows or set on porches to welcome the deceased. They also served as protection against malevolent spirts or goblins freed from the dead. Turnips and gourds were not as readily available in the Americas so the pumpkin was used and found to be quite an adequate replacement.

Bonfires During Celtic times, sacred fires and fire rituals marked the solar festival. All village fires but those of Samhain were extinguished and new fires lit from this sacrificial fire, or householders were charged a fee for the fires burning at alters. Fires were used to protect against malevolent spirits and for ritual sacrifices to their gods. Today many Irish celebrations still involve bonfires. In parts of modern Scotland, bonfires called Hallowe'en bleeze are lit and danced around by young people to celebrate the holiday.

Fortune Telling Since the earliest recorded times, mankind has wanted to peer into the future. Tons of methods have been employed, many of them depending on the fortune teller having psychic abilities. Several Halloween games are based on fortune-telling practices done by our ancestors. The ancients would cast "lots" with stones, bones, shells or wood in an attempt to tell the future. Witches are thought to be fortune tellers.

Ghost Stories Legends and folklore of the dead have been around for centuries. Ghost stories are a staple for Halloween and it's spooky festivities.

Haunted Houses Visiting haunted houses with the expectation of having the crap scared out of you is a modern tradition. I have no information on how the practice started but I can tell you that I'm always glad to participate!