Halloween is a strange holiday. It started several centuries ago in Europe. It began as "Hallow
Evening" which means "holy night". At that time November 1st was called "All Saints' Day" (万生日)
and people honored all the saints who did not have their own special day. People believed that all the
spirits of dead people were active on the night of October 31st. So people would play all sorts of tricks
on each other.
Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions
took place at night. Pumpkins are a symbol of Halloween, so orange has become the other traditional
Halloween color. Making lanterns out of pumpkins is a Halloween custom.
Halloween is great fun for children. They dress up as ghosts (鬼) or witches (女巫). Small children
go "Trick - or- Treating". They wear costumes, knock on doors, and shout, " Trick or Treat!" People
almost always choose to give them candy as a treat, instead of choosing to receive a trick from the
children. Adults sometimes "trick or treat" their friends, too. Usually the "treat" is a glass of" wine or
some small gifts.