BY AMANDA ROGERS

McClatchy Newspapers

he pumpkins are carved, the

costumes are prepared and
theres a big bowl of candy
waiting by the door if it lasts until
Oct 31, that is. Halloween is lurking in
the wings, ready to swoop down for
another night of trick-or-treating,
haunted houses and frights for all. But
where did these annual rituals come
from? Read on to find out...

The church tried to change this by

encouraging people to han out food to
the poor on All Souls Day. In exchange
for soul cakes, the poor promised to
pray for the dead relatives of the people
who gave them the cakes. Soon,
children were dressing up and begging
for cakes, too.
By the 1920s, the children in
America began trick-or-treating as a
harmless way of involving everyone in
town in the holiday. Back then, tricks
like turning over out-houses and soaping the windows were widespread, especially if a house wasnt giving out treats.

Historyof

How did Halloween start?

About 2,000 years ago, the Celts celebrated the end
of their year on Oct. 31. Their new year started the next
day, but for that one night, the Celts believed that the line
between the living and the dead blurred and that people
who were dead could come back to walk the Earth.
The Celts, who lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom and
northern France, celebrated with bonfires and wore costumes
for the festival called Samhain, pronounced sow-in or sown
(rhymes with clown).
In A.D. 43, the Celts were overrun by the Romans, who
ruled during the next 400 years and combined two of their
fall festivals with Samhain. In late October, the Romans
remembered their dead on Feralia and then honored Pomona,
the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Supposedly, this is
why we bob for apples on Halloween.

Why is it called Halloween?

By the 800s, Christianity had appeared in the area and Pope
Boniface IV wanted to replace the pagan festivals with Christian
holidays. But it didnt work exactly the way he expected. The
Catholic Church decided to honor all saints on Nov. 1 and
later named Nov. 2 All Souls Day to remember the dead. All
Saints Day was called All hallows, so the night before
(Oct. 31) was All hallows Eve, which was celebrated with
bonfires and costumes.

Why do people hand out treats?

The Celts (and their descendants) left food in front of their
homes because they believed the dead would eat and then not
need to come inside the house.

How come the United States celebrates?

The people in colonial America immigrated from Europe and
brought their customs with them. These were combined with
some from the American Indians. Scary pagan rituals were discouraged, and the holiday became sort of a fall festival to celebrate
the harvest. There were ghost stories and mischief, too.

Why do people wear costumes?

The Celts and later the Europeans, believing that the spirits
walked the Earth on Oct. 31, wore masks after dark so that if they
should run into a ghost, the spirit would think the wanderer was
one of their own and not try to possess the body.

Whats up with the jack-o-lantern?

An Irish legend tells the tale of Stingy Jack, who played tricks
on the devil. When Jack got to heaven, he wasnt welcome; he
wasnt welcome by the devil, either. So Jack had to wander the
Earth forever. Because he couldnt see in the dark, he carved
out a turnip or potato and put in a lump of coal he stole from
the devil.
When the Irish people immigrated to America, they brought
the legend and the tradition of the carved potatoes and turnips
with them. Pumpkins were easier to carve and there were a lot
of them in America, so they soon took the place of the turnips
and potatoes.