The origins of Halloween

"Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain
(pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is
now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year
on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the
beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated
with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the
boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the
night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the
ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and
damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made
it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the
future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these
prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long,
dark winter.

"To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people
gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During
the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads
and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was
over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that
evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

"By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the
course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals
of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of
Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans
traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to
honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the
apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains
the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

"By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the
seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time
to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was
attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related but
church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or
All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the
night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and,
eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November
2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to
Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints,
angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations--the eve of All Saints',
All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas."