Halloween, name applied to the evening of October 31, preceding the Christian feast of Hallowmas, Allhallows, or All Saints' Day. The observances connected with Halloween are thought to have originated among the ancient Druids, who believed that on that evening, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of evil spirits. The Druids customarily lit great fires on Halloween, apparently for the purpose of warding off all these spirits. Among the ancient Celts, Halloween was the last evening of the year and was regarded as a propitious time for examining the portents of the future. The Celts also believed that the spirits of the dead revisited their earthly homes on that evening. After the Romans conquered Britain, they added to Halloween features of the Roman harvest festival held on November 1 in honor of Pomona, goddess of the fruits of trees.

The Celtic tradition of lighting fires on Halloween survived until modern times in Scotland and Wales, and the concept of ghosts and witches is still common to all Halloween observances. Traces of the Roman harvest festival survive in the custom, prevalent in both the United States and Great Britain, of playing games involving fruit, such as ducking for apples in a tub of water. Of similar origin is the use of hollowed-out pumpkins carved to resemble grotesque faces and lit by candles placed inside.

The Witches' Spell ~ Double, double, toil and trouble, Fire burn, and cauldron bubble! Fillet of a fenny snake In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg and owlet's wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth, boil and bubble! Double, double, toil and trouble, Fire burn, and cauldron bubble! ~by William Shakespeare~

HALLOWEEN LINGO

• Make sure you know the lingo this Halloween:

• Bobbing Apples: What happens when you jog without a bra.

• Boogieman: The guy who passes time at a stoplight picking his nose.

• Coffin: What you do when you get a piece of popcorn stuck in your throat.

• Frankenstein: Hot dog and a mug of beer.

• Full Moon: What your repairman reveals when he bends over to fix your fridge.

• Goblin: How you eat the snickers bars you got for Halloween.

• Invisible Man: What a guy becomes when there's housework to be done. Also, see "Mr. Hyde."

• Jack O' Lantern: An Irish Pumpkin.

• Jack the Ripper: What Jack does to his lottery tickets after losing each week.

• Mummy: The person who kisses the boo-boo after you scrape your knee.

• Pumpkin Patch: What a pumpkin wears when trying to quit smoking.

• Skeleton: Any supermodel.

• Vampire Bat: What Dracula hits a baseball with.

• Witch: See "Mother-in-Law."

• Zombie: What you look like before that first cup of morning coffee

The first year she was a pumpkin
and she donned a bright orange smock.
Her daddy took her trick-or-treating,
though she had not learned to walk.

The next year she was a bunny
and on one leg, she would hop
while her left ear stood up straight
and the right would swing and flop.

Then a bride costume from Grandpa;
a long skirt and lacy blouse,
but she tripped over the train...
so daddy carried her to each house.

The fourth year brought us Lion King
and she roared both day and night.
She was either "Simba" or was "Nala."
(I never could get that right!)