Halloween, as we know it, is celebrated on October 31st with children dressing in costume and going door to door trick-or-treating to collect treats of candy.
History.com reveals that before the existence of Halloween, ancient Celts celebrated the festival of Samhain. It marked the end of the harvest season, and they believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth and were associated with human death. They built huge sacred bonfires where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, they wore costumes typically consisting of animal heads and skins and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. In later centuries, people began to dress as ghost demons and other creatures. Performing antics in exchange for food and drinks. Poor people would visit the houses of wealthier families and receive pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of the homeowners’ dead relatives. During the mid-19th century, large numbers of new immigrants shaped Halloween into the celebration as we know it today.
ACE School Safety Advocate Gary explained how he remembers trick or treating during the early 70s when “kids were allowed to go without parents to different neighborhoods and costumes were homemade.” He felt that people viewed it as safer than today and that giving candy out back then was more convenient.
Student Arianna Ciccia shared that her tradition during Halloween is ” to go trick or treating in rich neighborhoods to get big candy bars, party, and hang out with friends.”
A very popular place to go trick-or-treating in Danbury, Connecticut, is Deer Hill Avenue. Deer Hill is known for having big homes and giving out good treats on Halloween, and even decorating the outside houses putting on a show.
