The Story of Halloween

When is Halloween Celebrated? Halloween is celebrated on the evening of October 31st, which is the evening before the Christian feast of All Saint's Day.

How did Halloween begin? Halloween's history goes back to the ancient religion of the Celtic tribes (circa 500 B.C.)when they celebrated All Hallows Eve

Was it always called Halloween Halloween was also called: All Hallows Eve Samhain All Hallowtide The Feast of the Dead The Day of the Dead

What is All Hallow’s Eve? All Hallows' Eve is the day before All Saints (or All Hallow's Day), has become Halloween. It is the time when the worlds of the living and dead overlapped before the start of the new year. People set bonfires on hilltops to ward off the evil spirits before the start of the winter season.

When did Trick-or-Treating Start? Poor children in Britain and Ireland went door-to-door on All Hallows Eve and received food in exchange for the promise of praying for the giver’s dead relatives on All Saints Day. This practice was known as “going-a-souling.”

Why is it called Trick-or–Treating? The original idea was that if you did not give a "treat" to the trick or treaters they would then play a "trick" on you. Today this is not allowed

What are Jack-O-Lanterns? The tradition began with folks believing that carving scary faces onto turnips would frighten away evil spirits. The tradition turned to pumpkins in America because pumpkins were more plentiful—and much easier to carve.

Why do people dress up for Halloween? It is said that people who wore masks during Halloween would be disguised and safe from demons. But when trick or treating became popular in America whole costumes became popular.

Halloween in Australia More people are celebrating Halloween by decorating their houses, holding parties and trick-or -treating Halloween is not a public holiday in Australia like it is in other places in the world.