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According to ancient Celtic
tradition, Halloween (known to the Celts as Samhain) was a holiday of festivities to honor the end of a productive harvest
season. This custom begins at sundown on October 31st and is celebrated long into the early hours of the following morning.
According to the pagan Celtic religion of Druidism, those who died the past year would roam the earth on the night of Samhain.
The Celtic people would appease these spirits with offerings of food and drink. At the same time, other Celts honored powerful
deities by burning bonfires atop sacred hills.
Many Halloween festivities originate from folklore and pagan traditions. Supernatural
forces and spirits of the dead all come to life on this hauntingly glorious day. Halloween decorations often involve images
of pumpkins, witches, black cats, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, bats and other associated occult images.
The most popular Halloween decoration is the "Jack-O-Lantern" pumpkin. The jack-o-lantern originates from a character in
British folklore. According to these tales, the soul of a deceased person named Jack O'Lantern was barred from entering heaven
or hell and was condemned to walk the face of the earth carrying his lantern. In memory of Jack O'Lantern, a pumpkin is carved
to resemble his gruesome face along with a candle placed within it to highlight and accentuate this grotesque visual image
Halloween today is a time for children to dress up in costumes of
ghosts, witches and other supernatural beings, make lanterns out of turnips or pumpkins and play games such as 'dunking' for
apples. Local superstitions about this night abound. The American custom of "Trick-or-Treating", originated in Great Britain
as 'Mischief Night', which was the custom of soliciting fruits and sweets from neighbors and was particularly popular in Scotland
and Northern England and amounted to a form of customary blackmail based on a persons superstition. Generally the housholder
would happily give an offering to the apparition, thus placating the spirit and ensuring only peace and good omens on his/her
household. The term "trick-or-treat" comes from the original idea that if a treat is not given to the person who asks, then
a devious (but harmless) trick will be played on the unwilling participant.
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