Did you know that Halloween, also known as Samhain, a Celtic word for summer end, has its roots in Celtic spiritual traditions with pagan origins?

Two thousand years ago, the ancient Celts in Ireland celebrated Samhain from October 31st to November 1st to mark the harvest with fire festivals. On the night of the 31st the Celts believed that death would rise from their grave and return to the human world to walk along them. To keep them away, the Celts would leave food and wine on their doorstep and dressed as ghosts or monsters to confuse and avoid the spirits.

Years later, to distract the pagans from their practice, the Christian church attempted to Christianize Samhain. Pope Boniface initially moved it to May 13th as a day for saints and martyrs. However, in the 9th century, Pope Gregory relocated it to coincide with the fire festivals, renaming it All Saints' Day on November 1st, with All Souls' Day following on November 2nd.

Over time, October 31st became known as All Hallows Eve or Halloween, as we know, and kept many pagan traditions and customs which were embraced in America in the 19th century through Irish immigrants. Also, the tradition of trick or treat has roots in ancient Irish and Scottish traditions from the Samhain days.