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Here's a look at the Halloween's beginnings

CBS News · New
CBS News
CBS News
New

The National Retail Federation says this year's Halloween spending on costumes, decorations, candy and greeting cards is expected to hit more than $13 billion. Author Kenneth Davis, the historian behind the "Don't Know Much About" series, explains how Halloween started.

Breakdown
  • Halloween spending in the United States is expected to exceed $13 billion, reflecting its status as a major commercial holiday. 20s
  • The origins of Halloween trace back over 2,000 years to the Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the end of the harvest and believed to be when the dead could walk the earth. 54s
  • Christianity later adapted these pagan traditions, transforming Samhain into All Souls Day and then All Hallows' Eve, which became Halloween. 1m 55s
  • Early Halloween customs included lighting bonfires to ward off spirits, collecting wood door-to-door, and carrying embers in carved-out turnips, which evolved into modern trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving. 2m 22s
  • The practice of dressing in costumes and going door-to-door for treats has roots in both ancient rituals and medieval traditions, such as children receiving soul cakes in exchange for prayers for the dead. 4m 14s
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