Happy Halloween!

Halloween seems to have derived from the Roman feast of Pomona; the Goddess of fruits and seeds, and Parentalia which is the festival of the dead.

The festive gatherings used as a setting for supernatural encounters, although no evidence supports that it was connected with the dead in pre-Christian times or that pagan religious ceremonies were held. This is around 200 years after the Catholic Church inaugurated All Saints Day and 400 years after Ireland became Christian.

The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th Century and represents a scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening").

The American tradition to carve pumpkins, was recorded in 1837 and was associated with harvest time in general not Halloween. It didn't become associated with Halloween until the late 19th Century. After all, the American celebration is now known as a costume wearing, trick-or-treating, UNICEF supporting holiday that most Americans enjoy.

So Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates. Watch all those scary movies, eat candy until you can't anymore, and play those scary (but safe) tricks on your friends and family!