"Our neighbors go hard for Halloween"

Halloween has ancient roots tracing back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around November 1 as the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter—a time when it was believed that spirits could more easily cross into the human world. To ward off or appease these spirits, the Celts lit bonfires and donned costumes. When Christianity spread, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day, with October 31 becoming All Hallows’ Eve, eventually "Halloween." Over centuries, the holiday evolved, blending Celtic, Christian, and other European traditions, with practices like trick-or-treating, costumes, and pumpkin carving emerging prominently in the U.S. by the 20th century, shaping Halloween into the festive event we know today.