Halloween, being on October 31st, used to be called All Saints Day. It was called that because on November 1st is known as All Saints Day and it marked the end of summer, harvest, and beginning of winter. Although Halloween is not technically known as a “national holiday”, most Americans in the U.S. join in the festivities and fun throughout the month of October.  

Halloween all started when the Celtic Festival of Samhain started, which was around 700 B.C. The Festival of Samhain was a festival that took place around November 1st. All ghosts, souls, and other creatures would start in that festival. The festival would bring people with food, some costumes, and other things together. The people would place the food around, so it would make the souls and ghosts, as an act of appeasement to the spirits.  

Although the costumes were a thing during the festival, they became way more popular as the 20th century grew and became more populated. People now can buy costumes from stores like Spirit Halloween, but some people DIY their costumes. People enjoy baking pumpkin pie, cookies, and other goodies, but others like to make savory foods. Some people have other traditions, like carving pumpkins. The Irish used to carve turnips that later turned into Pumpkins for the Halloween.  

Trick or Treating is mostly always the Thursday before October 31st. While children enjoy trick or treat-ing with their friends, the older kids and teenagers think it is a cool idea to prank. As the Halloween tradition grew, so did pranks and vandalism too. Teenagers enjoy stealing candy from “take one” baskets, toilet paper-ing houses, and egging houses. The cops have gotten involved with some of these actions.