Halloween or Hallowe’en (a contraction of the night of the Hallows or the Hallows), also known as Allhalloween, all the eve of the Hallows, or eve of All Saints, is a celebration observed in several countries on October 31, the eve of the feast Western Christian of the day of all Hallows ‘. It begins the observance of three days of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remember the dead, including the Saints (Hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful deceased.
It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from the ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Samhain Gaelic festival; That such festivals may have had pagan roots; And that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early church. Some believe, however, that Halloween began only as a Christian feast, separated from ancient festivals like Samhain.
Halloween activities include Trick-or-Treat (or related driving and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, sculpting pumpkins in Jack-o ‘-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, riddling games, jokes Game, visiting the haunted attractions, telling scary stories as well as watching horror movies. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious celebrations of the eve of All Saints, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, though in other places is a more celebration Commercial and secular. Some Christians have historically abstained from the flesh throughout the eve of the Saints, a tradition reflected in the ingestion of certain vegetarian foods on this waking day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.
The traditions and importance of Halloween vary widely among the countries that observe it. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween costumes include children who wear themselves in the costumes “guising “, the parties they perform, while other practices in Ireland include lighting fires, and fireworks displays.