Folklore & LegendsNo. 6348 · The 2026 edition
Facts about Halloween, as discussed in Britannica's Elementary Encyclopedia Halloween
Discover the spooky origins and fascinating traditions behind Halloween, from ancient Celtic festivals to modern-day trick-or-treating.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at web.archive.org.
This entry explores Halloween's history, tracing its roots to the Celtic festival of Samhain, the influence of Roman and Christian traditions, and how it evolved into a global celebration with costumes, jack-o'-lanterns, and candy.
About this
A short, encyclopedia-style fact page about Halloween drawn from Britannica's Elementary Encyclopedia entry on the holiday. It offers a quick overview of what Halloween is, when it falls, the customs most associated with it, and its link to older autumn festivals, plus a brief list of related topics for further reading.
Facts from the original
- Halloween is also called All Hallows' Eve.
- Halloween takes place on October 31.
- It is a time when people dress up in costumes.
- People go trick-or-treating on Halloween.
- People carve jack-o'-lanterns from hollowed-out pumpkins.
- Several ancient festivals held in the autumn helped create the holiday that exists today.
- Related topics listed on the page are Halloween, holiday (social practice), and jack-o'-lantern (decoration).
- The facts are presented as discussed in Britannica's Elementary Encyclopedia Halloween entry.
- The page carries a copyright notice for 2010 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
From the original
This page presents a compact set of encyclopedia facts about Halloween, the holiday also known as All Hallows' Eve. According to the entry, the celebration falls on October 31 and is marked by a few familiar customs: people put on costumes, they go trick-or-treating, and they carve jack-o'-lanterns out of hollowed-out pumpkins. The page frames Halloween not as a single invented event but as something assembled over time, stating that several ancient festivals held during the autumn helped shape the holiday as it exists today. Beyond that basic framing, the page stays brief — it gives no names or dates for those older festivals and no account of how the modern practices developed. It closes by pointing readers toward related Britannica topics, listing Halloween itself, holiday as a social practice, and jack-o'-lantern as a decoration. The content is credited to Encyclopædia Britannica, with a 2010 copyright notice on the page. In effect, the page is a one-paragraph primer that defines the holiday, dates it, names its signature activities, notes its roots in autumn festivals, and directs readers to further entries rather than offering a detailed history.
