But in the 5th century B.C in Celtic
                                             Ireland, summer actually officially ended
                                             October 31 and the Celts celebrated Samhain (sow-en) Their new year on that day.
                                             There are many storys about how that day was celebrated. In one story it is said
                                             that the spirits of all those who had died through out that year would come back
                                             in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. In their beliefs that
                                             was believed to be the only hope for the "afterlife" The Celts also believed 
that all laws of space and time were suspended
                                             on that night allowing the spirit 
world to intermingle with the living. Of course the still-living did not want to 
be
                                             possessed...I mean would you?? So on the night of October 31, villagers would 
put out the fires in their homes and would
                                             then dress up in ghoulish costumes and 
noisily parade around the neighborhood being as destructive as possible hoping
                                             to 
frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess. Also they believe that another 
reason why the Celts would
                                             put their home fires out was not just to discourage spirit
                                             possession but so that all the Celtic tribes could light their home fires from a
                                             common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland
                                             at Usinach. For those unlucky to have been possessed or to say the unlucky who
                                             was thought to have been possessed was said to have been burned at the stake as
                                             a lesson to the spirits. This may of been why they did the same to those accused
                                             as Witches later on in History. But this is just a myth and not completely
                                             proven.

The Romans adopted the Celtic practices
                                             as their own (as they did with many
                                             things including taking their god and goddesses from the Greeks but that is a
                                             debate and a story for another time.) But by the first century AD they had
                                             abandoned any practices of sacraficing humans in favor of burning effigies,
                                             crude dummies made in the likeness of the hated person. Throughout time these
                                             practices changed over time to become more ritualistic. As belief in spirit
                                             possession died down (excuse the pun) The practice of dressing up in as
                                             hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.
                                             

The custom of Halloween finally
                                             made its way to America in the 1840's with the
                                             Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time it was more
                                             a series of pranks some of the favorite in New England was tipping over
                                             outhouses and unhinging fence gates, (EWWWWW *GrrrBee holds his nose*)
                                             

The custom of trick-or-treating
                                             is thought to have originated with the Irish
                                             Celts as well but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On All
                                             Souls Day, November 2nd, Early Christians would walk from village to village
                                             begging for "soul cakes" (square pieces of bread with currants) The more soul
                                             cakes that a beggar received from a family the more prayers that family they
                                             promised to say in behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At that time it
                                             was thought that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death and that prayer,
                                             even by strangers, could hurry up the soul's passage to heaven. I wish that
                                             would work for traffic!
                                             

Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish Folklore. As the tale goes, a
                                             man named Jack, who was well known as being a drunkard and trickster, tricked 
Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved
                                             an image of an image of a cross 
into the bark of the trunk preventing him
                                             

from coming back down. Jack then
                                             made a deal with the devil that if he promised 
to never tempt him again then he would let him back down the tree. According
                                             to the folk
                                             tale after jack died, he was denied entrance in heaven for his evil ways but
                                             then he was also denied entrance into Hell because he had tricked the Devil.
                                             Instead the Devil gave him an ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. 
The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out
                                             turnip to keep it glowing longer. 
The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally but when they 
came
                                             to America they found out that pumpkins were far more plentiful then turnips 
that is why Jack-O-Lanterns are now carved
                                             pumpkins. 
                                             

So basically from what we learned
                                             of Halloween we need to dress up ghouls, tip
                                             over some outhouses, chase a devil up the tree, say a prayer for the dead, hand
                                             out soul cakes instead of candy, carve a pumpkin and stick a candle in it. But
                                             above all have fun and be safe :)