https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
Halloween,[a] also known as All Hallows' Eve[9] or All Saints' Eve,[10] is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of Western Christianity's feast of All Hallows' Day. It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide,[11] the time in the Christian liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), Christian martyrs, and all the faithful departed.[3][12][13] In popular culture, Halloween has become a celebration of horror and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural.[12][14]
One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celticharvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which is believed to have pagan roots.[15][16][17][18] Some theories go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallows' Day, along with its eve, by the Christian Church.[19][1][20] Other scholars say Halloween began independently as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallows' Day.[21][22][23] Celebrated in Ireland and Scotland for centuries, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought many Halloween customs to North America in the 19th century,[24][25] and then through American influence various Halloween customs spread to other countries by the late 20th and early 21st centuries.[14][26]
Popular Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins or turnips into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling frightening stories, and watching horror or Halloween-themed films.[27] Some Christians practice the observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead,[28][29][30] although it is a secular celebration for others.[31][32][33] Historically, some Christians abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.
