Halloween had its origin in the celebration of the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who lived in Great Britain, Ireland and France, celebrated the beginning of their new year on November First.  Samhain the Celtic Lord of Death, it was believed, allowed the dead to return to their earthly homes for the evening of October 31.
The Druids, Celtic priests and teachers, built a  giant bonfire on the evening of October 31 and believing it to be sacred, made sacrifices of crops and animals. Everyone put out their hearth fires and relit them with a torch from this great bonfire. They dressed in costumes of animal heads and skins and told fortunes about the coming year based on the sacrificed animal remains. The celebration marked the beginning of the cold, barren season of decay and death.

Romans conquered the Celts in 43 A. D. During their 400 year rule they combined two of their festivals with the Festival of Samhain. One festival honored the goddess of fruit and trees, Pomona. Apples may have become associated with Halloween because of this. The second festival called Feralia, celebrated in late October, honored their dead.
The Catholic Church established All Saints' Day in the 1800's and celebrated with a mass on November 1. The mass was called Allhallowmas and the evening before became known as All Halloween or Halloween. Later, the Church celebrated November 2 and called it
All Souls' Day.
The mass was a solace for those who feared for the souls of their loved ones who had died.
Jack-O-Lanterns, are hollowed out pumpkins with carved faces and lit candles inside. According to Irish legend, they are named after Jack, a man denied heaven, as he was a miser and denied hell because he played tricks on the devil. Jack was doomed to walk the earth with his lit lantern until Judgment Day.
Fortunetelling is still associated with Halloween celebrations. The old tradition of cooking such objects as a thimble, a ring and a coin in a cake and serving it to guests was one form of fortunetelling. The person who got the coin would find wealth, the ring, marriage and the thimble, no marriage. Today, Tarot cards, Runes, Palmistry and the reading of Tea Leaves may be used for fortunetelling.
More Halloween traditions include wearing masks and costumes to parties and going out Trick or Treating. Trick or Treat is the giving of candy or fruits to costumed children who came to your door on Halloween. If you do not pass out treats a trick is played. Bobbing for apples with coins placed inside as prizes, telling fortunes and ghost stories, toasting marshmallows and carving out  Jack O'Lanterns are all Halloween activities ...

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