Halloween 2022: History and significance behind the celebration of this spooky day

Halloween 2022: Halloween, which is also known as All Hallows' Eve (Feast of All Saints), is a famous festival observed in western countries on October 31. People of all age groups celebrate the occasion by dressing up and attending spooky parties. However, young children enjoy this festival by wearing outfits inspired by pop culture, carving jack-o-lanterns on pumpkins, drinking some pumpkin spice drinks, and playing a game which is called trick or treats.

All about Trick-or-treating: Trick-or-treating is one of the popular traditions that is followed during the festival. Kids are all set off on Halloween or Halloween night in the neighbourhood by wearing costumes, ringing the doorbells, and demanding treats. This has been a tradition in the United States and among other Western countries for many centuries.

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The history of Halloween: The history of Halloween goes back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marks the end of a bountiful harvest for the summer and the beginning of the cold winter. The Celts, who lived many years ago in the areas now called Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, believed that the dead returned to earth on Samhain. So, to pay homage to the dead, people gathered to light bonfires, offer sacrifices, and dress up in costumes made from animal skins. It also helped to ward off unwanted visitors. Moreover, food was left on tables outside to satiate these spirits. 

As time passed, people modified the festival and started dressing up as ghosts, demons and other creatures to perform antics in exchange for food and drink in the Middle Ages. This custom came to be known as mumming and is considered an antecedent of trick-or-treating. In Scotland, young people take part in a tradition called guising - where they dress up in costumes to go around the neighbourhood singing or performing tricks in exchange for offerings like fruits, nuts or coins.

However, in the US, it is believed that Irish and Scottish communities revived the Old World traditions of guising in the early 20th century. However, the custom got firmly established in popular culture in 1951 after it was depicted in the Peanuts comic strip. Moreover, in 1952, Disney produced a cartoon called Trick or Treat - featuring Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. Today, Halloween and the tradition of trick-or-treating are celebrated by many. Moreover, Halloween is the second-largest commercial holiday in the US.

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