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[[Image:Halloween.gif|right|thumb]]'''Halloween''' is a holiday associated with candy, ghosts, trick or treating, and the supernatural observed on October 31. The name is shortened from All Hallows' Eve. "Hallow" means saint. As the name suggests, Halloween is observed on the day before All Saints' Day.

[[Image:Halloween.gif|right|thumb]]'''Halloween''' is a holiday associated with candy, ghosts, trick or treating, and the supernatural observed on October 31. The name is shortened from All Hallows' Eve. "Hallow" means saint. As the name suggests, Halloween is observed on the day before All Saints' Day.

Connecting Halloween to pagan festivals was once a way to discredit Catholic practice. In modern times, these theories serve a neo-pagan agenda. Both groups end up portraying devoutly Catholic Ireland of the 18th and 19th centuries as a land of paganism. All Saints' Day is called ''Samhain'' in Gaelic, but this does not mean that a pagan festival survived a thousand years of Christianity.

Connecting Halloween to pagan festivals was once a way to discredit Catholic practice. In modern times, these theories serve a neo-pagan agenda. Both groups end up portraying the devoutly Catholic Ireland of the 18th and 19th centuries as a land of paganism. All Saints' Day is called ''Samhain'' in Gaelic. But this does not mean that a pagan festival survived a thousand years of Christianity.

The earliest descriptions of Halloween as a festival refer, not to Ireland at all, but to late 18th century Scotland. The festival combines elements of several holidays that were suppressed in the 16th century as a result of the [[Reformation]].

The earliest descriptions of Halloween as a festival refer, not to Ireland at all, but to late 18th century Scotland. The festival combines elements of several holidays that were suppressed in the 16th century as a result of the [[Reformation]].