Halloween (or Hallowe’en) is a holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration, but some Christians and Pagans have expressed strong feelings about its religious overtones.^[1][2][3] Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America during Ireland's Great Famine of 1846.^[4] The day is often associated with the colors orange and black, and is strongly associate with symbols such as the jack-o'-lantern. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting haunted attractions, carving jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories, and watching horror movies.

(... from Wikipedia on 2008-12-31 21:51:31 )