Halloween, a history - an Irish invention and an American export

Other than being Europe the origns are not know. It has been celebrated in England, Ireland, Germany and so on for over thousand years

Samhain (pronounced like soun) is the Irish for November. I once saw a documentary in thich it was pronounced like "sam'hayne" (also a movie on May Day (Lá Bealtaine in Irish) in which the Irish word for "May" was pronounced as "byel'tain". In Ireland, for centuries the turnip was widely used in Holloween fun, but emigrants from that land used the pumkin instead in the U.S. (which was much more plentiful that the turnip) in celebrating Holloween.

Trick or treat was alive and well in the Dublin of the fifties,apple and nuts were the order of the day. Donning silly witches hats and cloaks was also a favourite.

Good article. Over the years I have tried to get quite a few young Irish to talk about Halloween traditions. It was clear that they have none. Many don't even know that Halloween/Samhain is Irish in origin. The old traditions of Ireland are no longer passed from generation to generation. If the parents are cut off from the old ways, the children will be even more so. I'd wager that a lot of Irish Americans know more about old Irish Halloween traditions than do the Irish.