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What is American Halloween (Hallow's Eve)?
Scare away the bad spirits with spooky items.
Halloween is also known as All Hallows' Eve [9] and All Saints' Eve [10]. It is a celebration observed in many countries on October 31st, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day.
It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide [11], the time in the Christian liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints ("hallows"), martyrs, and all the faithful departed (souls) [3][12][13].
In popular culture, Halloween has become a celebration of horror and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural [12][14], the gory, gruesome, magical, and morbid.
One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were directly influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have pagan (pre-Christian European) roots [15][16][17][18].
Some theories go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallows' Day, along with its eve, by the Church [19][1][20].
Other academics say Halloween began independently as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallows' Day [21][22][23][24].
Celebrated in Ireland and Scotland for centuries, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought many Halloween customs to North America in the 19th century [25][26]. Then, through American influence, various Halloween customs spread to other countries by the late 20th and early 21st century [14][27].
Popular activities during Halloween include
trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling),
attending gaily feted costume parties,
carving pumpkins and turnips into spooky jack-o'-lanterns,
lighting bonfires,
apple bobbing,
divination games,
playing pranks,
visiting haunted houses and attractions,
telling frightening stories, and
watching horror flicks and Halloween-themed films [28].
Some Christians practice the observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead [29][30][31], although it is a secular [32][33][34] or even demonic and Satanic celebration for others.
Historically, many Christians abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of traditional vegetarian foods on this day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes [35][36][37][38]. More
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