The history of Halloween

Oh, there you are! Welcome to the world of Halloween – where trick-or-treating and spooky costumes are just the beginning.

Did you know Halloween has ancient roots? It goes back to an old Celtic tradition called Samhain. Let's have a look around this haunted house and find out more. Come on, you scaredy cat – let's go!

Am I being followed?

Our story starts with Samhain, a Celtic festival first celebrated over 2,000 years ago, and still in some parts of the world today. Samhain marked the start of the year, so it was basically like New Year's Eve.

Celts believed that on Samhain, the barrier between our world and the spirit world was at its thinnest, so spirits and ghosts could slip through and mingle with the living. To protect themselves, people dressed up in spooky costumes, hoping to scare off any spirits they might bump into in the night. And we still wear spooky costumes today!

As time passed, the Celtic festival of Samhain combined with the Christian festival of All Saints' Day, or All Hallows. Together, they made All Hallows' Eve – and pretty soon, we had Halloween.

Hey, hey, hey ... I know that was a spooky noise! We're in an old house – they make noises. Hey, come back! Come back!

Oy! There you are! We need to talk about trick-or-treating.

Way before creepy costumes and sweets, people in medieval England practised something called 'souling'. On All Souls' Day, they'd go around door to door and offer to pray for people's family members in exchange for food.

This custom evolved over centuries, weaving its way through history to become the trick-or-treating we know today. So ... trick or treat?

Man: What?

Presenter: Treat, please.

Man: No!

Presenter: Please?

Man: You're not even wearing a spooky costume!

Another Halloween tradition I love is carving pumpkins. So this also started with the Celts. They used to carve shapes into turnips to ward off a mysterious spirit called Jack. Turnips are a lot smaller than pumpkins, so carving them was probably quite tricky.

In the 19th century, immigrants to America brought this tradition with them, but they soon found pumpkins were easier to get and had more space for a face. And that's how we got the jack-o'-lanterns that we know today.

I'm trying to get some work done! Whoever you are – whatever you are – just come out!

Otis: It's me. I want my ghostly hands on some delicious sweets.

Presenter: Oh, it was Otis!

Otis: You know what? I'd have got away with it if it wasn't for you pesky Newsround journalists.

Presenter: Right, OK ... Happy Halloween! What are you doing?

Otis: I just wanted some sweets.

Presenter: Go and buy some sweets – we're filming something here! Why are you pretending to be a ghost, you weirdo?

Otis: I wanted some sweets! Perfectly normal.

 © BBC