Halloween
Halloween, is a tradition originating in Ireland and celebrated on the evening of October 31, before All Hallows Day (or All Saint's Day).
In the United States, Halloween is marked by the activity of trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treat traditionally involves the children dressing in costumes, and going to various locations, generally houses, requesting candy at each.
Although a secular holiday, it's date it intentionally close to the Catholic holiday of All Saints Day - a day of respect for the dead, hence the name - 'all-hallow's-eve' becomes 'halloween', over time.
Colors orange and black are traditionally associated with Halloween as well as costumes of witches, ghosts, famous monsters, skeletons, and devils; also seasonal foods like Caramel apples, pumpkins, pumpkin pie, caramel corn, and candies.
History
From a pagan holiday traceable to the ancient Celts, the event became known as All Saints Day during the 8th century. Irish Catholics in America in the late 19th century introduced the event as a copy of Irish traditional folklore. They substituted pumpkins for turnips and secular costumes for those of saints by the mid-19th century. By the 1920s community efforts tried to sanitize the carnival spirit and reduce vandalism. Trick-or-treating became common 1940, further transformed Halloween into a rite of consumerism and moving the age profile to younger children. Starting in the 1960s trick-or-treating declined in some places and was closely monitored elsewhere because of (false) rumors of poisoned treats; "The Razor Blade in the Apple" was a made-up urban legend that truly frightened parents.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag 
Further reading
- Hybertsen, Karen Sue. "'The Return of Chaos': The Uses and Interpretations of Halloween in the United States from the Victorian Era to the Present", Dissertation Abstracts International PhD dissertation Drew University 1993 54(6): 2185-A. DA9331586, 286p.
- Santino, Jack, ed. Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life, (U. of Tennessee Press, 1993). 280 pp. academic study