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From pumpkins to pranks and communication with the dead, Halloween is a patchwork holiday stitched together with religious and occult traditions that span across centuries.

The history originates from the time of Celts, a collection of tribes with origins in central Europe. Their culture spread more than 2000 years ago. They used to celebrate the end of the harvest season with a festival called Soin on October 31.

It also marked the Celtic New Year and was considered a time between years, a magical time when the ghosts of the dead walked the earth.

On Soin the villagers gathered and lit bonfires to drive the dead back to the spirit world and keep them away from the living.

So November 1 was designated 'All Saints Day' to honour martyrs and the deceased (mostly for family members or friends). All Saints Day was known then as Hallowmas. Hallow means holy or saintly; hence it roughly translated to 'mass of the saints'.

The night before October 31 was All Hallows Eve, which gradually morphed into Halloween. Celts believed that on the night of the 31st, the boundary between the living and spirit world becomes thinner.

To avoid being recognised by evil spirits on All Hallows eve, the Celtics would wear spooky masks when they left their home at night, so the ghost would not mistake them for fellow spirits.

Trick and treating originated in the second half of the 1930s. Americans took from Irish and English traditions and went door to door, asking for food or money, while dressed in costumes.

Another famous part of Halloween is the 'jack-o-lanterns', which people in modern times use on pumpkins. They did that to light the way to their home, for good spirits to enter.