How Many Days Until Halloween 2026?

Why Is Halloween on 31 October?

Halloween’s date traces directly back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated on the night of 31 October. The Celts believed this was the one night each year when the boundary between the living world and the spirit world completely dissolved — when ghosts could roam freely among the living. People lit large bonfires and wore costumes to ward off wandering spirits.

When the Roman Empire conquered Celtic lands, Samhain merged with two Roman festivals — Feralia, a day to honour the dead, and a festival honouring Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. Centuries later, the Catholic Church designated 1 November as All Saints Day, making 31 October All Hallows Eve — which over centuries contracted into Halloween.

The name itself is a shortened form of “All Hallows Evening.” The date has remained fixed on 31 October for over 2,000 years making it one of the most ancient surviving celebration dates in the Western world.

History of Trick or Treating
Trick or treating as we know it today developed in North America during the 1920s and 1930s. Children would go door to door in costumes asking for food or money — a tradition that evolved from much older practices in Ireland and Scotland called “guising,” where people dressed in disguise and performed songs or jokes in exchange for food and coins.

The phrase “trick or treat” is a lighthearted threat — give us a treat or we will play a trick on you. By the 1950s trick or treating had become a standard Halloween tradition across the United States and Canada, and it has since spread to the United Kingdom, Australia and many other countries.