1. The story of Halloween Halloween is the name applied to the evening of October 31, preceding the Christian feast of Hallowmas, Allhallows, or All Saints' Day.

2. 2 The story of Halloween People in Britain have been celebrating a festival at the end of October and the beginning of November for more than two thousand years.

3. 3 The observances connected with Halloween are thought to have originated among the ancient Druids, who believed that on that evening, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of evil spirits. The story of Halloween

4. 4 Then the Celts celebrated the festival of Saman which meant the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic New Year on November 1st. Among the ancient Celts, Halloween was the last evening of the year and was regarded as a propitious time for examining the portents of the future.

5. 5 This was a time of darkness and mystery when ghosts and witches were everywhere and winter was near. The Celts also believed that the spirits of the dead revisited their earthly homes on that evening. The story of Halloween

6. 6 People lit bonfires to drive away the evil spirits and to give energy to the dying sun. They carried torches from these bonfires to their own homes and lit fires there too. They thought the fires kept the witches away from their homes.

7. 7 After the Romans conquered Britain, they added to Halloween features of the Roman harvest festival held on November 1 in honour of Pomona, goddess of the fruits of trees. The story of Halloween

8. 8 This was a time of darkness and mystery when ghosts and witches were everywhere and winter was near. The Celts also believed that the spirits of the dead revisited their earthly homes on that evening. The story of Halloween

9. 9 For many hundreds of years we have been frightening the witches in another way with jack - o’ - lanterns. These are usually hollow pumpkins or turnips with a candle burning inside them. The story of Halloween

10. 10 Eventually, in England, the “Day of fires” became November 5th, the anniversary of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. People have stopped having bonfires at the end of October. The story of Halloween

11. 11 Christian Hallowmass is a three-day period between October 31st and November 2nd. All Hallows’ Eve (Hallowe’en) comes first, then All Saints’ Day and then All Souls’ Day. Apples, nuts and candles are all very common in the Hallowe’en rituals. The story of Halloween

12. 12 For hundreds of years children have been combining Hallowe’en with an old custom called Mischief Night. This is a night when, traditionally, children played jokes on their neighbours. They changed stop signs... tied doors to walls... or to put gates off their hinges. The story of Halloween

13. 13 This is the origin of trick or treat which is popular in America and Britain. Children wear Hallowe’en costumes (witches’ hats, frightening masks, etc.), visit houses and say, “Trick or treat?”. People give them something - sweets or fruit (a treat). If people don’t give them anything, children play a trick (for example, they tie some old tins to that person’s car). The story of Halloween

14. 14 Today Halloween is a festival of fun. Children dress up as ghosts and witches or as other strange creatures like: Dracula, Frankenstein or Terminator. If they visit your house, you must give sweets or other good things, otherwise they will play tricks on you! The story of Halloween

15. 15 Some people give Halloween parties. They decorate the walls with cut-out figures of witches, black cats and ghosts, make lanterns out of hollow turnips or pumpkins, play games and tell ghost stories. The story of Halloween They eat hot soup and sausages, baked potatoes and roast chestnuts and crisp apples. To drink there is hot, spiced wine or hot chocolate flavoured with cinnamon.

16. 16 The Celtic tradition of lighting fires on Halloween survived until modern times in Scotland and Wales, and the concept of ghosts and witches is still common to all Halloween observances. The story of Halloween