The eve of All Saints’ Day, known as All Hallows’ Eve, was shortened to Halloween, and some of Samhain’s traditions, such as honoring the dead and wearing disguises, endured. Dr. Linda Adams ...

Tradition has it that on Samhain Eve all fires were extinguished across Ireland. A huge bonfire was lit on Tlachtga - the name of an ancient druidess - and all the people had to come and light ...

All Saints’ Day continued the Samhain tradition into the eighth century. When Pope Gregory III made declared Nov. 1 to be All Saints' Day, the night before was called All Hallows Eve—the same ...

In this tradition, 1 November marked the start of the new year so Samhain was New Year’s Eve. During Samhain, it was believed that the barrier between our world and the world of spirits ...

This is how we ended up with the name Halloween. Similar to Samhain, it was thought that on All Hallows' Eve the boundary between our world and the spirit world was at its weakest. Several customs ...