Halloween comes from the ancient Celtic harvest festival of Samhain (which is pronounced Sow-en or sow-in). The festival marked the end of the summer season and the start of a new year, commencing 
November 1st. It got its start in Ireland and ancient Britain over 2,000 years ago where it was believed that spirits of the dead revisited their former homes in the shape of ghosts, goblins, witches and other scary figures.
It was during the 9th century that the Catholic Church declared November 1st to be “All Saints Day” (or “all-hallowmas”) and October 31st became “All Hallows Eve”. October 31st is the final day of the Celtic calendar and, therefore, had significance.
Irish immigrants brought the holiday to the United States in the last century. All Hallows Eve became a secular holiday that also was connected to the fall harvest. The immigrants would celebrate the harvest by building a bonfire and then sitting around it together and sharing ghost stories, fortunes and lots of laughter and good times that included singing and dancing.
According to the Merriam-Dictionary, Halloween (both spellings) is a shortened version of “All Hallow Even” which stands for “All Saints Eve”. If the letter “v” is taken out, then the word becomes Halloween. The apostrophe in Hallowe’en is there because of the missing letter. While both spellings can be used and are perfectly acceptable, punctuation in today’s modern society leans towards the highest degree of simplicity. The spelling “Halloween” is much easier for most people to speak and understand, which is why it is the predominant spelling for the holiday.
Read on for some more fun and interesting facts about Halloween:
-Orange and black are Halloween colors for a reason- orange is directly connected to the fall harvest while black is connected with darkness as well as death.
-Jack o’lanterns got their start in Ireland. People used to hollow out turnips (before the day of the pumpkins) and then place candles inside. They believed that this would keep ghosts and spirits at bay during the spooky holiday.
-Pumpkins are most commonly orange in color but they also grow in blue, green and white.
-Pumpkins are very healthy to eat. This is particularly true of the seeds. The seeds are choked full of omega-3 essential fatty acids as well as protein.
