All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain.
Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, and watching horror films.
The word Halloween (or Hallowe'en) dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin, meaning "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 e'en 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" derived about 1556.
