Halloween means All Hallows Eve, or the night before the ‘All Hallows’, also called ‘All Saints’ Day, a celebration observed by the Church on November 1. In old English the word ‘Hallow’ meant ‘sanctify’. All Hallows Day is a day to honor all the Saints. Despite this connection with the Church, Halloween Day owes its origin to the ancient (pre-Christian) Druidic fire festival called “Samhain”, celebrated by the Celts in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Samhain is pronounced “sow-in”. Samhain or All Hallowtide was the feast of the dead in Pagan times, signaling the close of harvest and the initiation of the winter season.

This year, we celebrated by dressing up, performing a range of Hallowe'en poems and playing traditional games such as duck apple.