Halloween is the 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.

The Witch is a central symbol of Halloween. The name comes from the Saxon wicca, meaning 'wise one'. When setting out for a Sabbath, witches rubbed a sacred ointment onto their skin. This gave them a feeling of flying, and if they were fasting the felt even giddier. Some witches rode on horseback, but poor ones went of foot and carried a broom or pole to aid in vaulting over streams. In England when new witches were initiated they were often blindfolded, smeared with flying ointment and placed on a broomstick. The ointment would confuse the mind, speed up the pulse and numb the feet. The new witch would really think she was flying.

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 resemble grotesque faces and lit by candles placed inside. 

The Jack O' Lantern is based on an Irish legend about a drunk named Jack who tricked Satan into a tree to throw down some fruit. Jack carved a cross in the trunk and would not allow Satan down until he swore not to claim Jack's soul after he died. When Jack died he was not allowed into heaven because of his evil ways and the devil would not take him because of his promise. Satan threw Jack an ember to light his way through eternal darkness and Jack put the emberin a carved turnip to use as a lantern. The turnip was eventually replaced by the pumkin.

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