[NARRATOR]Halloween.

Every year, on the 31st of October, people in countries all over the world celebrate the spookiest day of the year – Halloween.

Today, we know Halloween as a day filled with scary costumes, decorations, and sweet treats.

But did you know that Halloween is actually one of the world’s oldest celebrations?

It dates back thousands of years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

The Celts were a group of tribes who settled in areas in Western Europe – including Great Britain and Ireland.

The Celts celebrated their New Year in autumn, on a day which marked the end of summer and harvest time and the start of a long, dark, cold winter.

They believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between our world and another invisible world, where spirits lived, became blurred, and strange creepy creatures like ghosts, ghouls and monsters could roam the land.

So, on the night before the New Year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain to ward off any unfriendly visitors.

They built bonfires, left offerings of food and drink, and wore masks or other disguises to avoid being recognised by the spirits.

Over time, the Christian religion spread across Europe.

The Celtic New Year was replaced by All Saints’ Day – also known as All Hallows’ Day – a holy day in honour of Christian Saints.

And the night before – which was traditionally celebrated as Samhain – became known as All Hallows’ Eve.

The new, Christian All Hallows’ Eve kept many of the traditions of Samhain, but as years passed by, new customs developed.

The masks and disguises of Samhain became costumes.

People started visiting the homes of others to perform tricks, like jokes or poems, for gifts or treats.

In other words, the beginning of trick or treating.

And people also started carving scary faces in vegetables like turnips, beetroots, and later, pumpkins, called Jack O’ Lanterns.

Eventually, All Hallows’ Eve became widely known as Halloween.

Although Halloween is rooted in the religious traditions of the past, for most people today it is simply an opportunity to have some fun.

Some people simply stay at home and watch scary movies or tell ghost stories.

Many people love getting dressed up in weird and wacky costumes to go trick or treating or attend Halloween parties.

“I’m really excited about what my costume is, because it’s quite scary.”

“Oh yeah, what are you dressing up as?”

“A grim reaper.”

Others celebrate Halloween by putting up cool decorations or carving pumpkins to make Jack-O’-Lanterns!

“The first thing you need to do is cut a lid and scoop the inside out.”

“The second thing you have to do is design a scary look for your pumpkin.”

“The third thing you’ve got to do is to get the best tools and start cutting.”

“And then you can show off your pumpkin.”

Whether you’re warding off ancient spirits, celebrating Saints, or simply having fun, Halloween continues to be an important event to many people.

Even our pets get involved from time to time!

Happy Halloween!