The word Halloween or Halloween dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin. The word "Halloween" means "hallowed evening" or "holy evening". It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows Eve (the evening before All Hallows Day). In Scots, the word "eve" is even, and this is contracted to een or een. Over time, (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en evolved into Halloween. Although the phrase "All Hallows" is found in Old English "All Hallows Eve" is itself not seen until 1556.
Halloween or Halloween (a contraction of All Hallows Evening), also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Eve, is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.
It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain & Brythonic festival Calan Gaeaf: that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church. Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain.
Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.