Halloween, as we all know, is an annual holiday traditionally celebrated on October 31.
The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival Sanhain, pronounce “SAH-win” when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. The Celtics, who lived over 2,000 years ago, mostly in Ireland, United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated New Year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold weather, a time of year that was often associated with human death.
On the night of Oct. 31, they celebrated Sanfires, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
During the celebration the Celts wore costumes and attempted to tell each other fortunes. The symbol Pomona was the apple. It probably explains the tradition of bobbing for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
As the beliefs and costumes of different European groups and the American Indian meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge.