Rituals link Halloween to harvest

From Transylvania County, N.C., to Eek, Alaska, Halloween is the third largest party day in the United States, behind New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl Sunday.
But a day of frivolity isn’t what the Irish Celts had in mind more than 2,000 years ago, when they decided to start the new year on Nov. 1.
The first day of November marked the end of the summer harvest (representing life), and the beginning of the dark cold winter months (representing death).
Because of the seasonal transition, the Celtic people believed that ghosts and spirits would roam the Earth on Oct. 31 to stir up trouble and damage late-season crops.
They came up with a two-step plan to ward off these apparitions. First, the superstitious Celts built sacrificial bonfires to protect their harvest. Then to protect themselves, they donned masks and costumes made from animal skins to blend in with the Earth-walking spirits.
That set into motion many of the Halloween traditions in America.
Just as the United States is a melting pot of cultures, so are its Halloween rituals. Most of them are tied to the reaping and gathering of crops.
According to “Halloween Party Favorites,” by Taste of Home, the traditions of bobbing for apples originated from the Roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
It’s the same way with the Halloween colors. Orange represents the fall harvest and black represents the darkness of winter.
The  Celts did more than build bonfires. They also hollowed out turnips and placed lighted candles or lumps of coal inside. The turnips were then  displayed on windowsills and porches to welcome home spirits of deceased ancestors, ward off evil spirits and a restless soul called “Stingy Jack.”  
When many people fled Ireland’s potato famine in the 1840s and came to the United States, they brought this Halloween tradition with them.
They quickly discovered that pumpkins were easier to carve than turnips and started using them instead.  
However, some historians trace the use of pumpkins to Spanish explorers who discovered them in the New World. Easy to grow and plentiful, these explorers carried pumpkin seeds from Central America to Europe, where they became popular.
This boo-riffic holiday wouldn’t be the same without trick-or-treating. This tradition probably dates back to All Souls’ Day parades in England.
During the festivities, the poor begged for food and well-to-do families would give them pastries called soul cakes in return for a promise to pray for the wealthy family’s dead relatives.
 

Folklore linked black cats to witches in the Middle Ages. It may be simply because they are nocturnal animals with glowing eyes or due to their fur. Black and orange are the colors of Halloween.