World's Most Oldest and Enduring Celebration

Something about Halloween

Halloween goes back over 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who inhabited present day Ireland and parts of Britain and France celebrated their new year on the 1st of November. They thought that on the eve of the new year the border between the worlds of the living and dead got blurred, when ghosts come back to earth.

The celebration became over this long period through many cultural influences. The Samhain observances became syncretised with early Christian practices to create hallowe'en on the eve of All Saints Day (1 November), a holiday dedicated to remembering saints and martyrs.

The way back in time, Halloween has been strange and creative celebrated amongst many lands today. Costumes range from witches and ghosts (this is Halloween) to their favorite movie characters; children along with adults. Trick-or-treating is another main tradition where children visit homes in their neighborhood hand out candy to houses (any treat really) decorated with jack-o'-lanterns, fake cobwebs and spooky decorations.

Halloween treats: themed foods, bobbing for apples and spooky ghost stories in Halloween parties. Haunted houses, corn mazes and costume contests are held in numerous towns. Another traditional is to carve up pumpkins to become jack orange lanterns, from an Irish fairy tale of a man called Stingy Jack who outwitted a devil.

No wonder people of all ages are looking forward to Halloween! Weeks go by with the excitement growing larger and many people use a day counter to see just how many days are left until halloween when they can get into costume and celebrate with their fellow geeks. If you want to dress up, or decorate your home or your treats for Halloween -- there is a Halloween Countdown app that will get everyone in the family hyped to see what the magic day turns out to be despite its mix of history, imagination and just enough madness.