HALLOWEEN.

Yesterday, October 31st, was the day of Halloween. It has always been a very special day for all the Anglo-Saxon countries such as UK, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand; However, nowadays, it has become a tradition for many people in Western European countries, thus it is celebrated in Spain too, and it is a holiday that I particularly like.

Halloween is an ancient costum that could be traced back to 2000 years ago. There are many theories about its origin: its said that its connected to All Saints Day, a holiday created by Christians to try to convert pagans; another theory says that it could come from Roman feast of Pomona. Nevertheless, the most supported theory is the one that relates Halloween to Samhain, a Celtic feast which celebrated the end of summer and the beginning of a new year in the Celtic calendar. Celtics believed that this night the line between the world of the livings and the world of the deaths was thinner than another night of the year so that a death can enter a living body and take control of it. For this reason, people started wearing scary costumes and maks to scare the spirits that wandered along the streets.

Regarding the origins of the name, it was called All Hallows Eve, and it came from Samhain that means 'end of summer' in Old Irish. With regard to costums and activies that are done in Halloween I have to emphasize: trick or treating, decorating homes, wearing costumes, carving Jack O'Lanterns, bonfires, visiting haunted houses, committing pranks and telling ghost stories.