October 24

The November 1st festival was called Samhain (pronounced "sow-en").  Many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of animals. This festival would become the first Halloween.

The invading Romans  introduced their festivals and customs. One of these was  Pomona Day, named for their goddess of fruits and gardens. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming a fall holiday.

 

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In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made November 1 a church holiday to honor all the saints, called All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas. Years later the Church would make November 2nd a holy day called All Souls Day to  honor the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils. Over the years all these customs mixed making October 31 All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en, and then - Halloween.