On this Halloween apples the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 1914 postcard showing a witch and anthropomorphic fruit and vegetables in a car with a humanoid face on the front radiator. Halloween is a celebration on the night of October 31. It is most practiced in the United States, Australia and Canada.

For Christians it is the eve of All Saints’ Day, which begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide. The pagan holiday Samhain, which the All Saints holy day replaced, was also known as the Day of the Dead. Many Lutheran churches celebrate a holiday on November 2 called the Reformation. This holiday celebrates the day that Martin Luther put The Ninety-Five Theses on a church door. After mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century, Halloween became a major holiday in America. The mystical rituals of earlier times evolved into fun and games.

For example, the concept of connecting to the dead was replaced with the more lighthearted idea of telling the future. Bobbing for apples became popular as a fortune-telling game on All Hallows’ Eve: Apples would be selected to represent a woman’s suitors, and the apple she ended up biting into would supposedly represent her future husband. Development of symbols connected with Halloween formed with time. Jack-o’-lanterns are traditionally carried on All Hallows’ Eve in order to scare evil spirits. Elements of the fall season, such as pumpkins, harvest, and scarecrows, are also common. During Halloween, some people, especially children, wear costumes.

People have worn costumes at Halloween for centuries. Wearing a costume may come from Celtic festivals of Samhain and Calan Gaeaf. They were often supernatural beings or from folklore. In the 1930s costumes of characters from literature, radio, or movies became popular, and such costumes are also popular today.