The origins of Halloween can be traced back 2,000 years to areas of the world  now known as Ireland, the United Kingdom, northern France and to a group of people called the Celts. Halloween is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic  and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know.

Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day influenced the modern holiday.

In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children’s holiday. “I wasn’t always sure where Halloween originated from but after doing a little research a years ago I found out that it came from a group called the Celtics…”  Jerica Sears, a Family & Consumer Sciences senior, said.

Although the superstitions surrounding Halloween may have been forgotten, the holiday is still celebrated with fervor. “I love to dress up and get involved with the community. It is a good time to hold fundraisers, blood drives or just  indulge in  different activities such as  door to door trick or treating or trunk or treating, pranks and haunted houses,” Sears said.