Halloween [key], the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year. Spirits, or fairies, were said to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of diminishing sunlight. Bonfires were lit and offerings were made of food and drink. It has been suggested that people would disguise themselves as one of the roaming spirits, to avoid persecution by them or to accept offerings for them. Survivals of these early practices can be found in countries of Celtic influence today, such as the United States where children go from door to door in costumes demanding “trick or treat.”
See studies by Ruth Kelly (1919, repr. 2014) and N. Rogers (2002).
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