Today, October 31, is 'Halloween, 2015'.

Halloween is celebrated by millions of people in multiple countries.  For most it is a fun time for kids who put on costumes and going door-to-door to get candy. But it is also known as a time of witches, ghouls, goblins, and ghosts. On one hand, some Christians see Halloween as a harmless time of fun and on the other, a ghastly and demonically inspired night that should be avoided.

The word Halloween is derived from the term, "All Hallows Eve," which occurred on Oct. 31. "All Saints Day" or "All Hallows Day" was the next Day, Nov. 1^st. Therefore, Halloween is the eve of All Saints Day.

 Some say that the origins of Halloween can be traced back to ancient Ireland and Scotland around the time of Christ. On Oct. 31^st, the Celts celebrated the day because it was when animal herders would move their animals into barns and pens and prepare to wait out the winter. This was also the time of the crop harvests. This annual change of season and lifestyle was marked by a festival called Samhain, pronounced 'sow-ane' (Sow rhymes with cow) which means 'end of summer.'

There was much superstition associated with this time of change, including the belief in fairies and that the spirits of the dead wandered around looking for bodies to inhabit. Since the living did not want to be possessed by spirits, they dressed up in costumes and paraded around the streets making loud noises to confuse and frighten the spirits away.

 In addition, the new year began for the Celts on Nov. 1. So, the day of Samhain was believed to be a day that was in neither the year past or the year to come.  Since it was in between, chaos ruled on that day. Often, people would pull practical jokes on others as a result.

Later, around the 5^th century, as the Catholic Church developed and moved into the area, instead of adding a new day to celebrate, it took over the Samhain celebration. Nov. 1^st became "All Hallows Day" where all the saints of the Catholic church were honored.  Oct 31 was "All Hallows Eve" which became "Halloween."

A later custom developed where people would go door-to-door on Nov. 2 requesting small cakes in exchange for the promise of saying prayers for some of the dead relatives of each house. This arose out of the religious belief that the dead were in a state of limbo before they went to Heaven or Hell and that the prayers of the living could influence the outcome. This may have been the precursor to Trick-or-Treat.

The Jack-O-Lantern apparently comes from Irish folklore about a man named Jack who tricked the devil into climbing a tree. Once the devil was in the tree, Jack carved a cross on the trunk preventing the devil from coming down. The devil then made a deal with Jack not to allow Jack into Hell after he died if only Jack would remove the cross from the tree.

After Jack died, he couldn't go to Hell, but he also couldn't go to Heaven. He was forced to wander around the earth with a single candle to light his way. The candle was placed in a turnip to keep it burning longer. When the Irish came to America in the 1800's, they adopted the pumpkin instead of the turnip. Along with these traditions, they brought the idea that the black cat was considered by some to be reincarnated spirits who had prophetic abilities.

So, it appears that the origins of Halloween are a mixture of old Celtic pagan rituals superstition and early Catholic traditions.