name applied to the evening of October 31, preceding

the Christian feast of Hallowmas, Allhallows, or All Saints' Day.

The observances connected with Halloween are thought to have

originated among the ancient Druids, who believed that on that

evening, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of evil

spirits. The Druids customarily lit great fires on Halloween,

apparently for the purpose of warding off all these spirits. Among

the ancient Celts, Halloween was the last evening of the year and

was regarded as a propitious time for examining the portents of

the future. The Celts also believed that the spirits of the dead

revisited their earthly homes on that evening. After the Romans

conquered Britain, they added to Halloween features of the Roman

harvest festival held on November 1 in honor of Pomona, goddess of

the fruits of trees.

The Celtic tradition of lighting fires on Halloween survived until

modern times in Scotland and Wales, and the concept of ghosts and

witches is still common to all Halloween observances. Traces of

the Roman harvest festival survive in the custom, prevalent in

both the United States and Great Britain, of playing games

involving fruit, such as ducking for apples in a tub of water. Of

similar origin is the use of hollowed-out pumpkins carved to