Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where the Celts believed the ghosts of the dead returned to earth on October 31st. People wore costumes to disguise themselves from these spirits. As Christianity spread, the holiday was transformed into All Saints' Day. The traditions of dressing in costumes and visiting homes for food or money evolved into modern-day trick-or-treating. The jack-o-lantern tradition originated from Irish immigrants carving turnips and brought the celebration to America. Today, Halloween is celebrated with costumes, parties, trick-or-treating, and eating candy.

1. Halloween Origins and Traditions This Powerpoint is hosted on www.worldofteaching.com Please visit for 100’s more free powerpoints

16. When they arrived in America they found that pumpkins were both plentiful and easier to carve than turnips.

17. Now, Jack-O-Lanterns are used for decorating people’s homes.

18. People have recently started carving less traditional Jack-O-Lanterns

19. Today people go to parties…

20. Take their kids trick-or-treating.…

21. And eat lots of candy!

22. If you don’t give candy to a trick-or-treater…

23. This could happen to you!

24. Bibliography www.wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm www.historychannel.com/halloween www.fni.com/heritage/oct97/historyhall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls_Day#Pagan_roots

25. The End Happy Halloween!