Halloween is an annual holiday that is celebrated on October 31. Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain during which people lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off the ghosts’ spirits. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory the 3rd first designated November 1st as the time to honor all saints. Soon after, the night before became Halloween.

Halloween marked the end of summer and the beginning of the dark, cold winter.  As the beliefs of many different European ethnic groups as well as the views of the American Indians emerged, a definite American version of Halloween began to flourish. The first step in changing the traditions of Halloween was to hold “play parties” which essentially were public events that were held to celebrate the harvest at which neighbors would share stories of the dead, telling each other’s fortunes while dancing and singing.

In today’s society, we celebrate Halloween by engaging in activities such as trick or treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, dressing in different and fun costumes and our most favorite part, eating sweet treats.