HALLOWEEN is an interpretation of “All Hallow’s Evening”, an annual celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31. It is the eve of the Western Christian of All Hallow’s Day. It initiates the time in the Christian Community dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs and all the faithful departed believers. According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain", which comes from the Old Irish word for "summer's end. Samhain Festival marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. It was seen as a point of conscious awareness, when the spirits or fairies (the Super Natural) could more easily come into our world and were particularly active. At Samhain, it was believed that the Spirits/Fairies needed to be appeased to ensure that the people and their livestock would survive the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left for the Spirits/Fairies. In modern Ireland, Scotland, Mann and Wales, the festival included celebrating in disguise or wearing a mask and performing a song or performance in exchange for food or money. This goes back as far as the 16th century. The "traditional illumination for the group of children performers was provided by turnips or beets which had been hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces to represent spirits or goblins". In the 20th century they spread to England and became generally known as jack-o’-lanterns.
Today’s festive Halloween activities include trick or treating, attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted houses, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.
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