Growing up in Canada, Halloween was a big deal; we’d get dressed up and wait, very impatiently, for it to get dark.

Once the street lights were on, being late autumn it was usually around 6.30pm and we’d head out in the neighbourhood.

People let you know if they were open for business by leaving their house light on and you generally stuck to the houses of the neighbours you knew.

Most people in my neighbourhood gave out candy but some would give out apples or make you do a trick, like sing a song before they’d handover the goodies. 

The origins of Halloween date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the end of the summer and the last harvest. 

On the night of October 31, it was believed the ghosts of the dead returned to earth, so they’d build sacred bonfires, wear costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, burn crops and attempt to tell each other’s fortunes.

When Christianity reached the Celtic lands, the church began All Souls’ Day, to honour the dead, celebrated with bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils.

The celebration was called All-hallows and the night before, the traditional night of Samhain, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.

The celebration of Halloween travelled to America with European immigration and slowly spread throughout the continent.

It’s believed the tradition of trick or treating dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England.

During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.