Halloween, also known as \"\"All Hallows\n" ); document.write( "Eve\"\", is a holiday that is associated with death and the\n" ); document.write( "supernatural. It is observed on October 31 in North America as well as\n" ); document.write( "some\n" ); document.write( "parts of Western Europe. Halloween falls on the eve of All Saints' Day, a\n" ); document.write( "Roman\n" ); document.write( "Catholic holiday. All Saints' Day was originally a pagan celebration of\n" ); document.write( "the dead\n" ); document.write( "and later became recognized in the Catholic church as a day to honor\n" ); document.write( "Christian\n" ); document.write( "Saints. Halloween is also associated with The Day Of The Dead, a Mexican\n" ); document.write( "holiday\n" ); document.write( "that coincides with all Saints' Day. During this celebration, Mexicans\n" ); document.write( "fill\n" ); document.write( "their homes with skeleton decorations, festive food, and later visit the\n" ); document.write( "graves\n" ); document.write( "of their deceased ancestors.
\n" ); document.write( "How did Halloween start? According to ancient\n" ); document.write( "Celtic\n" ); document.write( "tradition, Halloween (known to the Celts as Samhain) was a holiday of\n" ); document.write( "festivities to honor the end of a productive harvest season. This\n" ); document.write( "custom begins at sundown on October 31 and is celebrated long into the\n" ); document.write( "early\n" ); document.write( "hours of the following morning. According to the pagan Celtic religion of\n" ); document.write( "Druidism, those who died the past year would roam the earth on the night\n" ); document.write( "of\n" ); document.write( "Samhain. The Celtic people would appease these spirits with offerings of f\n" ); document.write( "ood\n" ); document.write( "and drink. At the same time, other Celts honored powerful deities by\n" ); document.write( "burning\n" ); document.write( "bonfires atop sacred hills. Sometimes, they went so far as to sacrifice\n" ); document.write( "animals\n" ); document.write( "or human beings during their ceremony.
\n" ); document.write( "Many Halloween festivities originate from folklore\n" ); document.write( "and pagan\n" ); document.write( "traditions. Supernatural forces and spirits of the dead all come to life\n" ); document.write( "on this\n" ); document.write( "hauntingly glorious day. Halloween decorations are often images of\n" ); document.write( "pumpkins,\n" ); document.write( "witches, black cats, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, bats and other\n" ); document.write( "associated\n" ); document.write( "paranormal.
\n" ); document.write( "The most popular Halloween decoration is the\n" ); document.write( "\"\"jack-o-lantern\"\"\n" ); document.write( "pumpkin. The jack-o-lantern originates from a character in British\n" ); document.write( "folklore.\n" ); document.write( "According to these tales, the soul of a deceased person named Jack\n" ); document.write( "O'Lantern was\n" ); document.write( "barred from entering heaven or hell and was condemned to walk the face of\n" ); document.write( "the\n" ); document.write( "earth carrying his lantern. In memory of Jack O'Lantern, a pumpkin is\n" ); document.write( "carved to\n" ); document.write( "resemble his gruesome face along with a candle placed within it to\n" ); document.write( "highlight and\n" ); document.write( "accentuate this grotesque visual image.
\n" ); document.write( "Dressing up in costume is another popular\n" ); document.write( "Halloween\n" ); document.write( "tradition. People enjoy this one day a year to \"\"become\"\" whoever\n" ); document.write( "they\n" ); document.write( "desire. This ritual-like tradition is considered to be harmless and fun.\n" ); document.write( "The\n" ); document.write( "more classical costumes are that of witches and ghosts. However, people\n" ); document.write( "today\n" ); document.write( "also enjoy dressing up to mock political figures and famous\n" ); document.write( "celebrities.
\n" ); document.write( "\"\"Trick-or-treating\"\" is another Halloween\n" ); document.write( "tradition\n" ); document.write( "in which children travel from house to house soliciting candy from\n" ); document.write( "neighbors.\n" ); document.write( "The term \"\"trick-or-treat\"\" resorts back to the original idea that\n" ); document.write( "if a\n" ); document.write( "treat is not given to the person who asks, then a devious (but harmless)\n" ); document.write( "trick\n" ); document.write( "will be played on the unwilling participant. Due to its increasing danger,\n" ); document.write( "many\n" ); document.write( "people now give Halloween parties to replace this holiday\n" ); document.write( "custom.
\n" ); document.write( "Halloween is overall, a deliciously splendid\n" ); document.write( "holiday celebration where\n" ); document.write( "people feel free to reveal a deeper (sometimes playfully darker) side to\n" ); document.write( "themselves in the midst of others. \"\"Spirits\"\" come out to play,\n" ); document.write( "fun-filled\n" ); document.write( "festivities are prevalent, everyone can be \"\"anyone\"\" and the\n" ); document.write( "occult is\n" ); document.write( "magically acceptable to all beings at least for one day.
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