Halloween. A time of joy. The time when you get tons and tons of candy, and maybe even some cavities. Halloween is also when you get to dress up in a costume of your choice.

A lot of people don’t really wonder why we celebrate Halloween. I, being Irish, already knew a little about the origin. But I decided to pursue my curiosity further, and researched a bit on the Internet. Halloween, originally called Samhain, started with the Celtics who lived in nowaday Ireland, France, and the UK. They celebrated the new year on November 1st, which marked the end of the summer and the beginning of the cold winter. This time was usually when people died (because of the cold and sicknesses), so the Celts thought that on the previous night, October 31 (*cough* Halloween *cough*), the spirit world and the human world were combined together and the ghosts came to Earth. During the night of October 31, the Celts held celebrations that involved making animal and crop sacrifices to the spirits. The Celts also wore costumes made of animal skins and tried to tell each other’s fortunes.

Around 43 AD, the Romans conquered the Celts and the Roman and Celtic holidays were combined. One of the Roman holidays was called Pomona. The symbol of Pomona was an apple, which was probably where the Halloween game “bobbing for apples” came from.

By the 800s, the Celts began to practice Christianity. The Christian pope, Pope Boniface IV, made November 1 All Saints, or All Hallows Day. People began to call the night before, Samhain, All Hallows Eve, which eventually turned into the name Halloween.

So, there’s a brief history lesson. And, on a different note, what are you going to be for Halloween?

P.S. Oh, and all you Mozilla lovers - you’ll be glad to know I switched to Mozilla!