As you send your little children out to gather candy, let me remind you of the roots of Halloween, hehehehehe. (Sinister laugh)
It comes from the Celtic Samhain (pronounced sow-in), where they celebrated the end of the harvest and November 1st was New Years day. It was first started sometime maybe 2000 BCE, who knows? But they did do human sacrifices and I used to wonder if the Pumpkin was filled with human grease to light the candle, but no. They didn't have many or any pumpkins in Ireland way back then.
"With newly uncovered archaeological evidence, historians are almost certain that animal, as well as human sacrifices, were made during Samhain to honour the dead and the Celtic Gods. It is thought that the famous ‘Irish Bog Bodies’ may be the remains of Kings who were sacrificed. They suffered the ‘threefold death’, which involved wounding, burning and drowning."
The Origins of Halloween: Celtic Roots, Evil Spirits and Pagan Rituals
