• Halloween has Pagan and Christian roots.
• Celebration of living and dead reuniting.
• Celebration no longer carried religious meaning.
• Bobbing for apples and carving pumpkins are Roman and and Celtic traditions.

As Halloween enthusiasts gear up for the horrors of haunted houses and allow themselves to eat bountiful amounts of candy, many fail to realize their excuse to party has pagan religious roots.

Halloween originated from a Pagan festival of Samhain, the Celtic New Year, said Verlyn Flieger, English professor at the University of Maryland at College Park.

"Samhain was associated with the dead, as well as with all inhabitants of the Celtic Otherworld," she said. "It was a time when those inhabitants could pass freely from that world to this one."

In early November, the weather transitioned from one season to the next, said the Rev. Steven Avella, professor of history. When this change occurred, the Celts believed the spiritual world and physical world were connected.

Once Christianity occupied the Celtic lands of Northern Europe, the Celts' festival evolved. The festival's roots were assimilated with Christianity in order to convert the pagan practitioners, Avella said.

Samhain became a time to remember blessed souls, hallowed souls, he said. The festival celebrated benign souls, shunned evil spirits and morphed into Hallows Eve, or Hallow e'en, Avella said.

Today, Catholics still celebrate All Souls Day, Nov. 2, in conjunction with All Saints Day, Nov. 1, Avella said. All Souls Day commemorates the faithfully departed with a memorial Mass. All Saints Day honors the saints of the Roman Catholic Church – those who are and aren't formally sanctified, he said.

Flieger said on Hallows Eve, Oct. 31, the Celts used "special lanterns that were carved from hollowed gourds to light the night and ward off spirits. In the New World, this became the carving of hollowed pumpkins, though over here the carvings took on the character of the dead or supernatural spirits."

Avella said he credits the Irish as the originators of Halloween tradition to the New World. While celebrators carved turnips as part of their celebration in Northern Europe, immigrants settled on carving pumpkins because of their abundance and ability to grow almost anywhere, he said.

The custom of bobbing for apples, now associated with Halloween, originated through a Roman harvest festival honoring Pomona, a goddess of fruit, Flieger said. Since the festival coincided with the Celts' celebration, bobbing for apples was incorporated into their merriment, she said.

Trick-or-treating's tradition materialized with the commercialization of Halloween, Avella said.

Avella referred to the celebration of Halloween as a "hybrid feast." The current night of costumes, parties and candy originated from a blend of Pagan rituals and Christian traditions, he said. However, today it's completely empty of its religious meaning.

Flieger said, "I would not consider the roots of Halloween to be predominantly religious but to be grounded in more ancient life ways."

Other cultures celebrate late October and early November holidays rooted in ancient beliefs and traditions as well.

Omar Barberena, program associate of University of Wisconsin-Madison's Roberto Hernandez Center, said Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is celebrated in Mexico to commemorate the lives of loved ones who have passed away.

The day's festivities originated from early Indian traditions, he said. Although rooted in religious beliefs, Barberena said the holiday's religious ties are much different than Christian practices. Día de los Muertos originated in Mexico's rural, indigenous communities, he said. The Indians who celebrated the festival believed in the afterlife and better life after death.

He said the day brings families together to recognize the unity between life and death.

On Nov. 1 and 2, families create altars in remembrance of deceased loved ones, he said. They attend church, say prayers and visit the cemetery where their passed friends and family members are buried.

Although the date of Día de los Muertos happens within days of Halloween, the festivities of the holiday do not coincide.

"It's kept separate from Halloween," Barberena said. "It is a family celebration, not a party."