Every year on October 31, the world celebrates a holiday called “Halloween,” also known as “All Hallows Eve”.

The traditional celebrations include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting “haunted” houses, and carving pumpkins.

Halloween originated in the ancient Celtic festival, known as Samhain in Ireland. This particular festival was celebrated at the end of the harvest season in the Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of all supplies and crops for the winter season. The ancient Gaelics believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the living and dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc towards their crops.

Every year pumpkins are carved and sat on porches, door steps and front lawns. The practice of carving “Jack O’ Lanterns” comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack. According to the folktale, Stingy Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he later invited the devil to have a drink with him. Jack convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin that he could use to pay for the drinks. Once the devil changed into a coin, Stingy Jack decided to put the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross, and doing this it prevented the devil from changing back into his normal form. Jack eventually freed the devil, but only on one condition, the devil could not bother him for a year and that if he dies, the devil cannot claim his soul. The next year Jack tricked the devil into climbing into a tree to get some fruit. Jack carved a sign of a cross into the tree so that the devil could not come down the tree until the devil agreed not to bother him for another ten years.

Soon after Jack died, Jesus did not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to take his soul, would not allow him in hell. Jack was soon sent of into the dark with nothing but a burning coal to light his way. Stingy Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth ever since.

In Ireland and Scotland people began to make their own Jack O’ Lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them in windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and any unwanted evil spirits.

People celebrate Halloween in several different ways. Some would rather hand out candy to children than go out themselves. Others would rather dress up in costumes and go door-to-door getting candy.

Traditions that many uphold is making caramel apples, giving candy away to children, taking their kids from door-to-door getting candy, and picking out costumes with their kids.

Even though Halloween has been celebrated all around the world for approximately 100 or more years, the traditions are still celebrated today.