Halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain; when people would light bonfires; and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. It was believed that on that day; the souls of the dead returned to their homes; so people dressed in costumes; and lit bonfires to ward off spirits. 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. Halloween spread more to the United States when European immigrants; and brought their varied Halloween costumes with them. Well,In the second half of the nineteenth century; America was flooded with new immigrants including; the Irish fleeing from the potato famine in Ireland in 1846. By combining Irish and English traditions; Americans began the “trick-or-treat” tradition. Then in the later 1800’s; the holiday became more centered on community and in the 1920’s and 1930’s; Halloween became “a secular; but community-centered holiday”. After that in the 1950’s leaders changed Halloween; as a holiday aimed at the young to limit vandalism. Finally, this all led to what Halloween actually is like today with its costumes; costume accessories; props and decorations too.