Halloween facts can be grouped into origins, traditions, and modern observances. Origins

• Halloween traces back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, traditionally celebrated around the end of July in the Celtic calendar (often described as marking the harvest season’s end and the start of winter) and later linked to All Hallows’ Eve when Christian influence blended with older customs. Samhain is commonly associated with spirits and the thinning boundary between the living and the dead.

• The name “Halloween” is a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening, the eve of All Saints’ Day. This timing sits at the start of Allhallowtide, a period dedicated to remembering the dead in Christian tradition.

Traditions and practices

• Trick-or-treating has roots in medieval and early modern practices such as “souling” or guising, where people would go door to door in exchange for prayers or small goods. Over time, this evolved into the contemporary candy-centric Halloween ritual in many countries, especially the United States.

• Jack-o’-lanterns originated in Ireland and Scotland, where lanterns were carved from turnips or other root vegetables to frighten away spirits. When Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the tradition to North America, pumpkins became the common carving choice.

• Common Halloween activities today include costume wearing, haunted attractions or horror-themed entertainment, pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, and various games or spooky storytelling. These have both secular appeal and religious or cultural echoes from historical practices.

Modern context and symbols

• The typical Halloween colors—orange and black—are linked to autumn harvest themes (orange) and historical associations with death or darkness (black). These color associations mirror the holiday’s shift from a harvest festival to a celebration of the macabre in popular culture.

• Halloween is widely celebrated in many countries on October 31, with variations in customs and emphasis but often featuring costumes, candy, and decorations inspired by ghosts, witches, and monsters.

Quick notes for deeper dives

• If you’d like, I can pull up more detailed summaries from up-to-date sources on Halloween’s origins, how specific customs spread globally, or fun fact lists about jack-o’-lanterns, costumes, or candy traditions.