Halloween And It's History

By Amber Stevens

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  What are the origins of  Halloween? It came from the Gaelic Festival known as Samhain and it was held on November 1st,  people then believed that souls from the dead would come into their homes so they would dress up in costumes and light bonfires to try and “scare” the spirits away. 

    Trick-or-Treating came from a tradition that started in the 16th century, it was started to “impersonate the spirits” and receive things on their half for doing so. In 1944-1984 there was a serial killer, Ronald Clark O’Bryan known as Candy Man and The Man Who Killed Halloween. He was responsible for killing his eight year old son Timothy on Halloween in 1947 with a laced pixy stick. 

    The word “Halloween” comes from “All Hallows Eve”. Some people don’t like celebrating Halloween because they think it worships the devil, but others think Halloween has christian beliefs and practices. It's always on October 31st because of “religious roots and secular traditions.”

    A couple facts or theories about Halloween is that if you see a spider on Halloween it means a loved one is watching over you. Black cats are sometimes harder to adopt during halloween time because some shelters won't let you adopt one because they fear that they may be sacrificed. Halloween has its ups and downs, but overall I think it's a great holiday. It allows people to dress up and little kids get excited because they get candy and dress up.