what is halloween about
Halloween (or Hallowe’en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, primarily in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. [1]
Contrary to what one might think, this 3,000-year-old Aztec holiday is actually a joyous celebration. [2]
Common Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, committing pranks, telling ghost stories or other frightening tales, and watching horror films. [1]
The harvest was gathered in to protect against the wintry blast of the faeries’ breath, and Samhain was an occasion for thanksgiving, sacrifices, divination and prayers. [2]
Carve Your Own Interactive Pumpkin - Create your jack-o-lantern by using this interactive pumpkin and knife. [...] Use your interactive crayon to paint these fun “talking” coloring pages of Halloween friends - pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, witches, ghosts, kids in costumes, and silly monsters. [3]
With the acceptance of Christianity, the dates of the pre-Christian festivals were used as occasions for church feast and holy days. [...] The Celts of modern-day Ireland and the UK two and a half millennia ago braced themselves for winter with this festival, which is pronounced “sowen,” literally means “summer’s end” and falls on November 1. [...] October 31, celebrated in the United States, Canada, and the British Isles by children going door to door while wearing costumes and begging treats and playing pranks. [...] Bobbing for apples on Halloween (the time of the apple harvest) may have been inspired by the Celtic fables about heroes who journeyed across water seeking the magical apple tree on the mythical isle of Avalon. [2]
The celebration of Halloween survived most strongly in Ireland. [4]
Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink. [...] In traditional Celtic Halloween festivals, large turnips were hollowed out, carved with faces, and placed in windows to ward off evil spirits. [...] It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saints’ Day, but is today largely a secular celebration. [1]
From the evidence, we know that Samhain was a focal point of the yearly cycle, and that traditions of leaving out offerings of food and drink to comfort the wandering spirits had joined the bonfire custom. [2]
Sources:
[1] Halloween - Wikipedia
[2] Halloween: Definition from Answers.com
[3] Halloween Activities for kids - Halloween Games - Halloween …
[4] About Halloween - Origin, History and Traditions of Halloween