Monday, October 28, Allen Community College will have a Halloween costume party in the dining hall at 8pm. Students are invited to wear a Halloween costume and go have some fun!

Also on the week of Halloween, Allen offers a two dollar movie night tonight October 24 where students with college identification can watch horror movies and eat popcorn with a big company of friends.

By the way, have you ever thought of the roots of Halloween in America? Pumpkins, costumes, masks, and trick-or-treat — each year on October 31, kids and grown-ups across the United States celebrate Halloween. They go door-to-door to ask for candy, visit haunted houses, prepare for costume parties, watch horror movies and tell scary stories.

The name “Halloween” was first used in the 16th century. Historians link this secular holiday to the Celtic festival of Samhain (which celebrates summer’s end) and the Christian holiday All Saints’ Day. The ancient Celts believed that on this day two worlds — dark and light — become one whole. On Halloween night the border between the living and the dead worlds grows thin. Spirits, both harmless and harmful, can then pass through.

People dressed up in costumes and masks in order to fence out unfriendly spirits. The belief was that one could protect himself or herself from harmful spirits by looking like them, which is why traditional Halloween costumes are those of ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils.

Halloween history is also the story of symbols and imagery. Pumpkins, bats, and black cats are just some of the items that have become an important part of the holiday.

No matter how you celebrate this popular fall holiday — whether you dress up as a monster or go trick-or-treating, visit a haunted house, or tell scary ghost stories — there is a long and rich history of Halloween that led to the October fun.