Peter Moore has a quick look at the evolution of one of our favourite festivals: Halloween

So, it’s the 31st of October. Better put, to me, you and all the card shops in the Western world, it is Halloween. Before you pull on all your costumes, chop up your pumpkins or knock on neighbours’ doors, it might be time to think about how Halloween came about.

Halloween evolved from pagan rituals in Ireland and Scotland. The pagans strongly associated winter with death (it was pretty cold up there) and by the end of October, summer was certainly over. Therefore the first of November came to symbolise the first day of winter and the previous day therefore became the last day of summer. This last day of summer became known as Samhain. This festival was the Grandfather of Halloween.

According to the pagans, survival throughout the harsh winters depended on the prophecies of the Druids, therefore in their honour bonfires were lit in the hope that they would help to protect them from evil spirits.

Ever since then, Halloween has retained its association with death. People remembered their dead, celebrated the lives of the dead and soon after the church got in on the act: the 1st November became All Souls Day.

Today’s incarnation of Halloween has much to do (like many other things it seems today) to do with the Irish. To this day the Irish take a day’s holiday on the 31st October; children across the land knock on neighbours’ doors to collect fruit and sweets; families make brambrack and eventually the tradition was carried by the Irish across the Atlantic Ocean and it became part of American culture.

Nowadays Halloween is a heavily commercialised holiday. Shops sell everything: cards, pumpkins, lights, hats, disguises and sweets. All designed to make things a little more exciting. A whole film genre has grown around the date. Harry Potter is one of the most recent books to add to the growing cult of Halloween: many of the most important plot lines in the books occur on the 31st October.

Right, time to enjoy yourself. Why not start with this lovely little song. Points for anyone who spots who the members of the band are.