What kind of crazy holiday has you display mutilated squash on your front porch, dunk your head in a barrel of water and apples, and take to the streets dressed as a french maid or giant frog in search of sugar and chocolate at any house you encounter? Why Halloween, of course!! But autumn time celebrations such as Halloween and El Dia de los Muertos haven't always been what they are today. Celtic and Roman Pagan festivals appear to have contributed to modern day Halloween practices, while El Dia de los Muertos has roots in an Aztec celebration. The holidays practiced today represent an intertwining of Christian concepts and ancient pagan festivals.

Samhain, a Celtic Festival, was held on October 31st on the eve of the Celtic New Year (November 1st ). It was thought the spirits of the dead came back to earth on this night. To ward off otherworldly spirits believed to cause crop trouble, Celts would extinguish all fires in their homes (making them undesirable to the spirits), dress up in ghoulish costumes of animal heads and skins (to frighten away the spirits), and gather at a central bonfire where they attempted to tells each others' fortunes (supposedly made possible by the presence of the spirits).

After the Celts were conquered by the Romans, a couple of Roman festivals (Feralia and a day to honor Pomona) were incorporated with Samhain. Feralia was a festival to commemorate the passing of the dead during which people left food and drinks outside their homes for the spirits. Pomona was a harvest festival to honor the goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which is possibly how apples (and bobbing for them) became integrated with Halloween and fall festivals.

With the spread of Christianity, many Pagan holidays were reinvented with a Christian spin. In the 800's, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1st All Saints' Day to honor all saints of the church. The night before All Saints' Day was called All Hallow e'en (aka Halloween). Later the church added a day to honor the dead and designated November 2nd All Souls' Day. All three days (October 31-November 2) are called Hallowmas. The church also introduced soul cakes as an alternative to Pagan rituals. People spent the holiday going house to house to pray for others' dead in exchange for soul cake from the home owners.

Today, "Halloween" is typically celebrated on October 31st. For El Dia de los Muertos, All Saints Day and All Souls' Day are celebrated, with November 2nd being the most important. During El Dia de los Muertos, the dead are honored by building in the home elaborate altars adorned with candles, incense, food and fresh water to welcome back the spirits. Families also go to the gravesites of loved ones to clean them up and decorate with items such as flowers, candles, and paper streamers. Symbols of the holiday include skeletons, parades, and sweet rolls called pan de muerto, often topped with dough bits formed in the shape of bones.

Symbols of Halloween include the colors black and orange, pumpkins, witches, ghosts, bats, black cats, vampires, skeletons, monsters, and most imagery related to fall harvest, death or ghoulish creatures. Pumpkins are carved and lit with candles, a tradition thought to have been inspired by the Irish legend surrounding "Stingy Jack". Jack was an unsavory man who, upon his death, was sentenced to walk the earth in the darkness with only a coal lit, carved out turnip for a lantern. Jack's behavior prevented him from entering heaven and the Devil refused him in hell after being tricked by Jack on multiple occasions. The Irish people would carve scary faces in to beets, turnips, and potatoes to keep "Jack of the Lantern" (Jack-o'Lantern) and other evil spirits away. As immigrants came to America, they brought their traditions, however pumpkins replaced turnips due to the abundance of the squash in the region, not to mention its ease in carving compared to a potato!

The trick-or-treating, costume partying, pumpkin carving version of Halloween is most popular in the United States and Canada, however it is not a government holiday in those states. Similar fall festival or spirit honoring types of celebrations take place in countries the world over. El Dia de los Muertos is most popular in Spanish speaking countries and November 2nd is a public holiday in Mexico.