ALL HALLOWS' EVE, EVERYONE FEARS, IT'S THE NIGHT OF THE WITCHES!

But what is the real history of Halloween? And why is it celebrated on October 31st every year?

Hallow E'en in Irish, derives from the abbreviation of All Hallows' Eve, where Hallow in primitive English means Holy and Eve means Eve, i.e. All Hallows' Eve or All Hallows' Eve.

History teaches us that Halloween actually has origins in ancient Celtic traditions, a people who had long luck in Ireland and refer precisely to the Celtic Festival of Semhain, i.e. the Celtic New Year.
The Celts measured the passage of time based on the seasons and harvest cycles, which is why Semhain symbolized the end of Summer, the Beginning of Winter and therefore the beginning of the new year.
For the Celts it was a very important period, perhaps among the most important of the year, given that it represented a moment of passage and preparation but also of death, perhaps because it was precisely what would happen in nature with the arrival of the cold season and thus became the main theme of the anniversary.
Furthermore, the Celts also believed that, precisely in this moment of "transition", the wall that divides the realm of the dead from that of the living became thinner and that the two worlds could somehow enter into communication with each other, which is why in this moment of transition, the Celtic people honored the deceased.
When the Romans conquered the Celtic lands they eliminated all their pagan holidays and officially established the feast of All Saints and the people who wanted to continue celebrating the ancient Samhain moved the anniversary to October 31st.

As you can understand, the holiday has very different origins and customs from those we celebrate today and that with the passing of the years, or rather the centuries, legends and traditions, eras and peoples overlapped until arriving at the final transformation which is that of the days of Today.
 

JACK-O'-LANTERN AND THE ORIGINS OF THE CARVED PUMPKIN

The origins of the Pumpkin arise from the story of Jack-o'-Lantern, a drunken Irish blacksmith who managed to deceive the Devil.
Their first meeting took place in a bar during one of Jack's many habitual drinks. He asked the Devil for one last wish before handing over his soul forever, that is, to turn into a coin for one last drink. But once the Devil transformed, Jack pulled out a silver cross and the paralyzed Devil was no longer able to return to himself. In order to regain his freedom and resume his true form again, the Devil promised Jack that he would not bother him for the next 10 years.
10 years passed and the Devil came knocking on Jack's door again but he managed to deceive him again. The Devil was then forced to come to terms with Jack again and promised him that he would spare hell.

After his last meeting with the Devil, Jack continued to live his life as a sinner until the day of his death and when he knocked on the doors of Heaven he was rejected, at this point Jack went to Hell and the Devil finally saw him he was able to avenge all the deceptions suffered by Jack and did not accept his entry into Hell, thus forcing him to wander the world of the living as a dead man and as a final eternal farewell gift he gave him a flame of Hell which Jack chose to place in the inside a turnip to be able to illuminate His path and make the flame last longer.

LEGENDS

The legend we all know about Jack-O-Lantern says that on Halloween night Jack wanders into the world of the living in search of shelter and the inhabitants have to hang a turnip/lantern outside the house to inform Jack that there is no place for him there .
When Halloween also passes in the United States, they replace turnip with pumpkin because it is easier to find.

Even the famous motto Trick or Treat comes from the legend of Jack who wanders through the houses reciting "trick or treat" which literally means "sacrifice or curse" and that the inhabitants preferred to pay for their sacrifice in order to avoid making him angry and throwing house and those who lived in it bad curses. Definitely a more macabre vision of today's trick or treat.