October 31 is Halloween. It is a funny event in the USA and in the UK and, now, in many other countries.
Halloween has Celtic origins. The Celtic calendar was divided in two parts.
Summer was
from May to the end of October and winter was from Novem-
ber to the end of April. There was a special festivity of Samhain,
celebrated
at the end of the year: the Start of the Winter. It began on the 31st of October
and continued until next day. On October 31, Celts (who were great perfor-
mers) performed religious rituals and talked about future events. The Celts
believed that ghosts, witches, and evil spirits returned on the night of Octo-
ber 31. For this reason, they wore frightening costumes and made big bon-
fires to send them away. The colours of Halloween (orange and black) are
of Celtic origin, too. Orange was the colour of the harvest and black was the
colour of the winter and long nights. Black cats are also popular among Hal-
loween symbols because Celts believed they had special powers. During
the centuries, the Catholic Church tried to explain this phenomenon, and in
the 18th century, decided to call the evening of the 31st of October All Hal-
low's Eve (The day before the festivity of all the saints/hallows). All Saint Day
was on the 1st of November. Now, Halloween is celebrated all over the world
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