Trick-or-treating, watching scary movies, colorful leaves and cooler weather time is here! Halloween is arguably one of the best holidays just because of the atmosphere around its time. Around 180 million people in the U.S. celebrate Halloween. But why do we celebrate Halloween? Where does it come from? 

Halloween originated from an ancient Celtic festival around two thousand years ago called Samhain. At this time, people would dress up in costumes and light bonfires to ward off ghosts. By the 9th century, there was a bigger spread of Christianity, so a holiday called All Souls Day started to be celebrated to honor the dead. People would celebrate the night before, calling it “All-Hallows Eve,” which eventually became  Halloween. 

When Halloween came over to America, it was mostly celebrated in the South due to the Protestants in the New England Colonies. By the nineteenth century, it was common to hold fun festivals to celebrate and tell ghost stories. At this time, children would dress up and put on scary shows from house to house waiting for a treat as a reward; this is now called trick-or-treating. All of this led to the popular Halloween traditions we love: trick-or-treating, dressing in costumes, scary movies, and pumpkin carving! 

Hundreds of years ago Halloween was celebrated due to religion or fear of spirits. Now Halloween is a time for people to get together and participate in fun fall activities. If you celebrate, how do you enjoy Halloween?