Halloween was originally a three-day Celtic festival, commencing on "All Hallows," the eve of November, signifying an autumn transition between light and dark, day and night, life and death.
The Celtic new year begins with what the Celts (and Wiccans) call Samhain (Gaelic, pronounced "sow-win").
It was (still is, for some), a time to celebrate the dead, remember them, respect them, and hold close all that links you, the sum of your ancestors, to those who delivered you.
Christians viewed the Celts as pagans and threw up a smokescreen by adopting pagan holy days as their own, which is why Christianity has All Saints Day on November 1st and celebrates Christ's birthday (a fabricated date) to coincide with celebrations of Celtic Winter Solstice.
Once all the pageantry and trick-or-treating is done, build a fire in an outdoor hearth (the Celts would gather around bonfires) and follow an ancient Samhain ritual: using pen and paper, write down bad situations and relationships.
Scrunch up the list.
Toss it in the fire.
And those bad situations and relationships are toast.
