Halloween is a festival that takes place on October 31. In the United States, children wear costumes on Halloween and go trick-or-treating. Many carve jack-­o'-lanterns out of pumpkins. Halloween parties feature such activities as fortunetelling, storytelling about ghosts and witches, and bobbing for apples.

Halloween developed from ancient new year festivals and festivals of the dead. In the A.D. 700's to 800's, Christians in Western Europe began to celebrate All Saints' Day on November 1. The Mass said on All Saints' Day was called Allhallowmas. The evening before All Saints' Day became known as All Hallows' Eve, or All Hallowe'en.

The Celtic harvest festival of Samhain was probably the source of the presentday Halloween celebration. The Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now the United Kingdom, Ireland, and northern France. Samhain, which meant "summer's end," was usually celebrated on November 1. The festival marked the beginning of the season of cold, darkness, and death. The Celts believed that on the day of Samhain, the souls of those who had died during the past year would come out of their graves and roam the land.

On the evening before the festival, the celts honored Saman, the lord of death. The Druids, who were the priests and teachers of the Celts, ordered the people to put out their hearth fires. The Druids built a huge bonfire of oak branches, which they considered sacred. They burned animals, crops, and possibly even human beings as sacrifices. Then each family relit its hearth fire from the bonfire. During the celebration, people sometimes wore costumes made of animal heads and skins. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining the remains of the animals that had been sacrificed.

The Romans began the conquest of the Celts in A.D. 43 and ruled much of what is now the United Kingdom for about 400 years. During this period, two Roman autumn festivals were combined with the Celtic festival of Samhain. One of them, called Feralia, was held in late October to honor the dead. The other festival honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Apples probably became associated with Halloween because of this festival.

Many of the customs of the Celts survived even after the people became Christians. In the A.D. 700's to 800's, Christians in Western Europe began to celebrate All Saints' Day on November 1. The people made the old pagan customs part of this Christian holy day. The church later began to honor the dead on November 2. This day became known as All Souls' Day.

Regional Halloween customs developed among, various groups of Celts. In Ireland, for example, people begged for food in a parade that honored Muck Olla, a god. The leader of the parade wore a white robe and a mask made from the head of an animal. In Scotland, people paraded through fields and villages carrying torches. They lit huge bonfires on hillsides to drive away witches and other evil spirits. In Wales, every person marked a stone and put it into a bonfire. The people believed that if a person's stone was missing the next morning, he or she would die within a year.

In England, Halloween was sometimes called Nutcrack Night or Snap Apple Night. Families sat by the fire and told stories while they ate apples and nuts. On All Souls' Day, poor people went a-souling (begging). They received pastries called soulcakes in exchange for promising to say prayers for the dead.

Halloween in the United States. Many early American settlers came from England and other Celtic regions, and they brought various customs with them. But because of the strict religious beliefs of other settlers, Halloween celebrations did not become popular until the 1800's. During that period, large numbers of immigrants arrived from Ireland and Scotland and introduced their Halloween customs.

During the mid-1900's, trick-or-treating became less popular in large cities, where many neighbors did not know one another. Halloween pranks, which had once been harmless, sometimes became rowdy and destructive. Traffic accidents also became a major problem on Halloween. As a result, family parties and large community celebrations gained popularity. Today, many communities sponsor bonfires, costume parades, dances, skits, and. other forms of entertainment to celebrate Halloween.

Trick-or-treating is the main Halloween activity for most children in the United States. The youngsters dress in costumes and masks and go from door to door saying "trick or treat." The neighbors, to avoid having tricks played on them, give the children such treats as candy, fruit, and pennies.

Some children trick or treat for UNICEF, the United Nation's Children's Fund. They collect money for the agency in official orange and black cartons. UNICEF uses the money to provide food, medical care, and other services for poor children throughout the world.

Certain measures can help prevent accidents on Halloween. A child who goes trick-or-treating should wear a light-colored costume or one with reflecting tape sewn on. Motorists can easily see such costumes. The costume should be made of a material that does not burn easily. Because masks can block vision, many parents use makeup to paint a mask on the child's face.

Younger trick-or-treaters should be accompanied by an adult. Children should visit only homes in their own neighborhood. Many parents allow their children to eat only packaged candy. Some communities set aside certain hours for trick-or-­treating so that people can prepare and motorists can be especially alert.

Jack-o'-lanterns are hollowed-out pumpkins with a face cut into one side. Most jack-o'-lanterns contain a candle or some other light. People in England and Ireland once carved out beets, potatoes, and turnips to use as lanterns on Halloween. After this custom reached America, pumpkins began to be used. ­Today, jack-of-lanterns are used as decoration.

According to an Irish legend, jack-o'-lanterns were named for a man called Jack, who could not enter heaven because he was a miser. He could not enter hell either, because he had played jokes on the devil. As a result, Jack had to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgment Day.

Certain fortunetelling methods began in Europe hundreds of years ago and became an important part of Halloween. For example, such objects as a coin, a ring, and a thimble were baked into a cake or other food. It was believed that the person who found the coin in the cake would become wealthy. The one who found the ring would marry soon, but the person who got the thimble would never get married. Today, some people use such fortunetelling techniques as cardreading or palmistry in addition to the traditional Halloween methods.

Bobbing for apples in a tub of water probably began in England. Today, some people stick a coin into each apple as an extra reward.

People once believed that ghosts roamed the earth on Halloween. They also thought that all witches met on October 31 to worship the devil. Today, most people do not believe in ghosts or witches, but these supernatural beings remain symbols of Halloween.