Halloween. Skeletons & Pumpkins. Candy & Trick or Treating. Costumes & Witches & Black Cats. There are many symbols and icons that we use to celebrate this popular haunted holiday on the last day of October, but where did they all come from?

Early Beginnings
Halloween was born out out the Celtic Festival of Samhain and the Christian Holy Day of All Saints Day. The Celts celebrated Sambian, which means "Summer's End", on November 1 to commemorate the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Grains, fruits and vegetables were gathered at this time, while cattle and sheep were often brought to shelter in stables or slaughtered for food. Bonfires were typically part of the festival, and the bones of slaughtered animals were often thrown into the fire as a ritual to the pagan Gods.

As the Christianity became popular, Samhain became Hallowmas or All Saints Day where the the souls of the deceased from the prior year were celebrated. The night before Hallowmas became known as All Hallows Eve and over time, Halloween.

Skeletons & Pumpkins
The Celts often put skeletons in their windows to represent the deceased. They carved turnips and other root vegetables as early lanterns. In Ireland, the legend of the farmer Stingy Jack, who was stricken with an evil curse where he would wander the world at night with a makeshift lantern comprised of a candle inside a turnip, hence the term Jack o' Lantern. In the United States, the more popular pumpkin was used in place of turnips and they continue to be carved today.

Candy & Trick or Treating
In Europe, small round cakes called "soul cakes" were made to celebrate the dead on All Souls Day. People, often children, would go door to door, gathering soul cakes. It was believed that every time someone ate a soul cake, a soul was set free from Purgatory. The soul cake tradition later became trick or treating as we know it today.

Costumes & Witches & Black Cats
People often wore masks on Samhain to hide themselves from the ghosts of the deceased that came out at night. Some cultures believed that while ghosts and spirits were out on All Hallows Eve, witches would fly in on broomsticks to celebrate with the evil spirits, and were often accompanied by bats, spiders and black cats. Other tales tell of evil humans who practiced black magic and were turned into black cats by the evil spirits.

So, there you have it. A brief education in the symbolism & history of Halloween.