Halloween Is Upon Us

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As most of us know Halloween began in Ireland as a Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts believed that the boundary between the worlds of living and the dead became less definite on this night before the new year and ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In the 19th Century Irish immigrants came to America bringing with them their Samhain traditions. One of these was to carve turnips into lanterns for the festival. An American substitute for the turnip was the pumpkin. Trick or treating started here in the US back in the 20's and 30's. The candy companies started making individually wrapped candy. Toys and even money had been given out before this new development. It is estimated that Americans will spend a whopping $2.5 billion on Halloween candy. That is about $20.10 per household. Then another $43 on decorations and $67 on costumes. This has increased 4.2 percent from last year.