The holiday of Samhain, pronounced “sa-oo-en,” is known as Halloween in the United States. But Samhain actually means November in Gaelic. The celebration begins on Oct. 31, known as Witch’s New Year, or more correctly, the ancient Celtic New Year’s Eve and Festival of the Dead. The term “All Hollow’s Eve” or Hallowe’en -the 31st- is the day before All Saint’s Day on November first. This is the time of the year where summer ends and fall begins slowly turning into winter, hence the new year.

Many sects of Paganism celebrate it in honor of loved ones who have passed on. The Celtic belief was that on Samhain, the boundary between the physical world and the spiritual world (which includes any nonhuman beings, the divine, loved ones, ghouls, spirits, etc.) is easier to cross.

Trick or treating came about because of the old Celtic tradition of those who celebrated Samhain. They would give spirits what they wanted (treats) or the practitioners would suffer the consequences of these spirits (tricks). In return for doing so, they wanted protection for their families and friends.

The customs were transformed into the ritual of “trick or treat,” where children, like they do today, would go to people’s doors and ask for treats when the house had a jack-o-lantern in front of it. Often children then would dress as bad spirits to demand candy, or they would play some kind of trick on the people who did not give out any.

Now, many Neo-Pagans on Halloween night honor their loved ones in many ways, including remembering them by calling out their names and wishes for them in the after life, setting out food and calling for celebration of rebirth.

Personally, I set out food on a plate with a glass of water and a place for them to sit. Others simply light candles in their loved ones’ names. For the celebrations, some say this is a good time to do divination- to see into the unknown or popularly see into the future. I agree, and often these ‘games,’ as some people will call them, would be done at these parties.

Some of these games include apples, meant to represent wisdom and foretelling.