Halloween Is both Canadian and USA now.
The celebration of Halloween was extremely limited in colonial New England because of the rigid Protestant belief
It is a Celtic belief.
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.

This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.
When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. By A.D. 43, the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the 400 years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of bobbing for apples that is practiced today on Halloween. All Saints' Day
On May 13, 609, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13 to November 1.

By the 9th century, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted older Celtic rites. In the year 1000, the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday.
All Souls’ Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.All Saints' Day
On May 13, 609, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13 to November 1.
By the 9th century, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted older Celtic rites. In the year 1000, the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday.

All Souls’ Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. All Saints' Day
On May 13, 609, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13 to November 1.
By the 9th century, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted older Celtic rites. In the year 1000, the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It’s widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, church-sanctioned holiday.
All Souls’ Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

Yars ago I made a dummy, which I posed in a chair on the porch. He had a tray in his lap with candy and a sign that said “Just take ONE!”

Well, the greed of some neighborhood kids caused many treats to dissapear. So I took down the sign and we passed out the rest at the door.

The following year, I did the same thing, but I was dressed as the “dummy.” If a kid would start taking more, I would say “It says just ONE!” Which would get a big reaction. Some kids would shine a flashlight into the holes in my mask to see real eyeballs, so the following year I wore a parentsunglasses with plastic lenses.

Then I saw a video on America’s Funniest Videos, where a dummy posing as I had got punched by a parent, so after that it was a dummy again.

😅😄

Hi Rod (One of our rare Gold members - I salute you👍)
No Rod the Twingo has probably long since been reincarnated as razor blades, cooking pots or who knows what.
Shortly after that Gisela bought a Peugeot Cabriolet, which I thoroughly enjoyed driving us around Italy. Great times😀
Cheers, Doug😎
PS: why is there no TripletGo breastfeeding pillow for mothers with triplets?
Coz there's no tit for Tat!!
OK OK I'm going, where's my hat?

The primary beneficiaries of Halloween are the candy manufacturers and the dentists 🤑
Gisela's Twingo (portmanteau of twist, swing, go) shud not be confused with the TwinGo a breastfeeding pillow for mothers with twins. Does she still hav it? (The city car, i mean.)

As some one has commented, its to commercial these days. I can remmber a neighbour being tricked many years ago, the local kids knew that they did not have kids and did not enter into the spirit ? of the night. So next morning their windows and front door were covered in white pray foam. It just washed off but it was funny to see.
AustinG😮

Hi Y'all,
Halloween, in the modern version, didn't seem to really catch on here in Europe.
Except in recent times with, presumably drunken, groups of vandalising youths.
My most vivid memory of Halloween over the last 30 years is the smashing in of the windscreen and rear window of Gisela's Twingo while parked in front of our home.

But then; the 'modern' incarnation of Halloween, Trick or Treat, is nothing more than an American invention intended simply to create new marketing opportunities. Long live commercialisation.🙄

Originally Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), was a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.
In popular culture, originating in US?, the day has become a celebration of horror, being associated with the macabre and supernatural. With associated commercial exploitation.
Was once a bit of fun, but now? Just another excuse for some elements of our modern society to run amok and sweet and 'novelty' manufacturers to boost profits.🤑

I used to participate with a stash of sweets, illuminated carved pumpkins etc etc. But not any more, not since the mindless vandalism of Gisela's car. We now batten down the hatches and secure our vehicles. It's sadly no longer just a bit of fun for kids.
Doug.

In past years I put a lot of effort int Halloween, this year I decided that sitting upstairs with a bailing bucket would be enough, did not need the bucket 🤣

Also here in USA.

I am not going to any extremes, the past few years we haven’t had much more than 30 kids.
Last night I sat on the front porch reading a book, only 7 kids in costume came and one adult in costume too. I saw some teens passing by and invited them to come up and get a few treats.

About 8 pm all was quiet and I went inside, and enjoyed a couple treats myself from the leftovers.

We did turn on the outside security lights for the night as there are houses under construction behind us.