ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN While there are many versions of the origins and old customs of Halloween, some remain consistent by all accounts. Different cultures view Halloween somewhat differently but traditional Halloween practices remain the same.

Halloween culture can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Roots lay in the feast of Samhain, which was annually on October 31st to honor the dead.

Samhain signifies "summers end" or November. Samhain was a harvest festival with huge sacred bonfires, marking the end of the Celtic year and beginning of a new one. Many of the practices involved in this celebration were fed on superstition.

The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.

Give Me Something Good To Eat is a fun Halloween themed song that incorporates the traditional Trick or Treat? rhyme with different foods and tastes. It has all of the traditional Halloween treats you would think of (candy, lollipops, chocolate, apples), but it also introduces other foods and adjectives, such as peaches and grapefruits, sweet and sour. FOOD

Whenever there is a part that is meant to be scary, like "boo!," say it loud and jump. It will add to the spooktacular effect. The food is typical Halloween popcorn, pumpkin pie and caramel apples.

Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. For instance, the carving of jack-o'-lanterns springs from the souling custom of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering the souls held in purgatory. The turnip has traditionally been used in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween, but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which are both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve than turnips. The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837 and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century. SYMBOLS

Cats Egyptians considered cats sacred and their Goddess Bast was considered the divine Mother of all cats. This Goddess was believed to live in the city of Bubastis, which was also considered sacred and was well known for its elaborate festivals and joyous festivities. Greek Goddess resembling Bast was known as Artemis, while the Roman Goddess with similar traits was known as Diana. In the Middle Ages, Diana was thought to be the Queen of Witches and thus, cats were thought to be related to witchcraft and considered as common pets of the witches. Today, cats have become one of the popular emblems of Halloween and black cat is often associated with misfortune and ill omens. Masks In the ancient ages, Egyptians often used masks to impersonate their deities. Their art included elaborate masks that cover the entire face of the wearer, who were believed to embody the deities and divinities and anyone who wearing such a mask was believed to manifest these pagan deities in human form. Mask was known in Teutonic as 'Grim', which was also a common part of the names of the deities. In Medieval ages, Christian churches forbade wearing of masks, to avoid such practices, but people continued to wear them on pagan festivals and the celebrations adopted in Christianity, such as Halloween and Carnivals. Owls Owl represents the Wise Woman of the village, also known as cunning healer and Herb mother or Crone of the village. It had once been associated with myriad forms of Goddess of Wisdom and Mortality, such as Athene, Anath, Blodeuwedd, Lilith, Minerva and Mari (the Goddess having eyes like an owl and who seems to stare). Mari could take the shape of the owl at will too. Today, owls are associated with witches, especially at Halloween. Harry Potter's world created by J. K. Rowling also portrays owls being the pets of witches and wizards and used by them as means of communication.