The leaves of the trees are beginning to fall, days are getting shorter and colder, that means Halloween, positioned at the end of the harvest season is just around the corner and marking the beginning of winter.

We know that kids love Halloween and so do the candy stores. But what is the real meaning of Halloween? 

Historically, Halloween precedes the Christian Feast of "Hallowmas", All Hallows, (when the Romans conquered the Celts, the traditions of the two different people were brought together and some of them were combined. For the Romans, November 1st was an important holy day called All Saints Day. November 1st is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints.  The observances connected with Halloween which originated among the Druids (one of the order of priests of religion in ancient Gaul, Britain and Ireland).

In the 5th century BC, people called Celts in Ireland began their New Year on November 1st (not January 1st ), therefore, October 31st was New Years Eve.

The Church says, Samhuinn, from October 31st to November 2nd was a time of no-time. The Celtic society, like all early societies, was structured and organized, everybody know their place. But to allow that order to be psychologically comfortable, the Celts knew that there had to be a time when order and structure were abolished, when chaos could reign. Samhuinn was such a time. 

The dead are honored and feasted, not as the dead, but rather as the living spirits of loved ones and of guardians who hold the root-wisdom of the tribe. With the coming of Christianity, this festivals was turned into Halloween (origin from the Catholic Church), (October 31st), All Hallows [All Saints Day] (November 1st), and All Souls Day (November 2nd). 

Samhain, pronounced "Sow-en", is the Sabbat 6 month from Beltane, and is the most important Sabbat. Together Beltane and Samhain cut the Witches year in half. Also, Samhain is the last of the three harvest Sabbats. This holiday is considered the Witches New Year, representing one full turn of the seasonal year. This day is a celebration of the end of the Goddess ruled Summer and marks the arrival of the God ruled Winter. The name Samhain means "Summer End".

The Druids knew that these three days had a special meaning. The veil between this world and the World of the Ancestors was drawn aside on these nights, and for those who were prepared, the journey could be made in safety to the "Other Side". 

The Celts, as well as Britain, France and Germany, honored "Samhain", a Druid God of the dead. At that time, it was believed that the souls of those who have died during the year were allowed access to the land of the dead.

At one time it was believed that the ghosts of all persons who were destined to die in the coming year could be seen walking through the graveyard at midnight on Samhain. Perhaps it is because it is on this night that the veil between this and the spirit world is the weakest. Many of the ghosts were thought to be of an evil nature. Naturally, the still living did not want to be possessed, and so for protection, jack-o-lanterns with hideous candle-lit faces were carved out of turnips and carried as lanterns to scare away the malevolent spirits. 

Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits, other accounts of Celtic history debunk these stories as myth.

Naturally the still living did not want to be possessed, so on the night of October 31st, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manor of ghoulish costumes and noisily parade around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away evil spirits looking for bodies to possess.

It was also believed that on that evening, "Saman", the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of evil spirits. 

Samhain is also the Celtic/Druid New Year. Other accounts say that Druids customarily lit bonfires on Halloween, for the purpose of warding off all these spirits. Those fires were built on top of hills so that the spirits find their way. Also, it was customary to light a fire in the household hearth which would burn continuously until the first day of the following Spring. Suitable food and shelter was provided for these spirits or else they would cast a spell, cause havoc, steal infants, destroy crops, kill farm animals and create terror as they haunted the living. The spirits demanded placating by giving them a type of worship and offerings, (This is the thought action that "Trick-or-Treat" emulates today. It is also said that it not originated with the Irish Celts, but with the ninth-century European custom called "Souling" - Walpurgisnacht, or the eve of the St. Walpurgis Day). On November 2nd, All Souls Day, people would walk from village to village begging for "Souls Cakes" (see Belgium), made out of square pieces of bread with currants.

The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from an Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the Devil up on the tree. Jack made a deal with the Devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree. The folklore further says, that after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the Devil. Instead, the Devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer. 

The Irish used turnips as their "Jack-O-Lanterns" originally, but when the immigrants came to America, the found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips.

It is also believed that Samhain is also the time of the year for getting rid of weaknesses. On a piece of parchment paper write your weaknesses or bad habits you would like to loose. Meditate on these weaknesses and how your life will be improved on loosing them. Then burn the parchment paper, preferable in the ritual fire, thank the Lord and Lady, and continue on with your celebration.

There are many traditionally believes and customs associated with Samhain, most notable that night was the time of the wandering dead. Offerings of food and drink to masked and costumed revelers, and the lighting of bonfires, continued to be practiced on October 31st, known as the Eve of All Saints', Eve of All Hallows or Hallow Even. For example in Belgium an old custom was to prepare "Cakes for the Dead", small white cake and cookies. A cake was eaten for each spirit honored with the belief that the more cakes you ate, the more the dead would bless you.

England: "Guy Fawkes Day", November 5th is celebrated  in ways reminiscent of Halloween. Guy Fawkes was accused of attempting to blow up the House of Parliament on that day in 1605. He was apprehended, hung, drawn, and quartered. On November 5th, 1606, the same Parliament declared the fifth of November a day of public thanksgiving. The act of treason was viewed as part of a "popish" -- that is, Roman Catholic -- plot against the Protestant government. Because Halloween was associated with the Catholic Church calendar, its importance diminished, but many of its traditions shifted to the annual commemoration of the dead of Guy Fawkes.

Four weeks before November 5th, English children prepare effigies of Fawkes, dummies known as Guys. They set them out on street corners and beg passers-by for "a penny for the Guys". The eve of the fifth is known as "Mischief Night", when children are free to play pranks on adults, just as October 30th, the night before Halloween, is known as Mischief Night in many areas. On the night of November 5th, the Guys are burned in bonfires, just as the ancient Celts burned bonfires on November 1st.