By Brianna Rayner
Staff Writer

It’s a crisp, fall night. The smell of bonfire lingers through the air. Marshmallows and apple cider are being pasted around. Then, suddenly the doorbell rings. Kids are outside full with cheer, and excited to go home and fill their little tummies with all the candy that can possibly fit. Goblins and goons lurking the streets of the neighborhood; there’s nothing quite like Halloween.

To some people Halloween is basically trick or treating and costumes. What some people don’t know is; “Halloween, also known as Allhalloween, All hallows’ eve or All saints eve is a yearly celebration, celebrated on October 31st by a number of countries.” “This time of the liturgical year is dedicated to the dead, including saints, martyrs, and faithful departed believers. Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween.”

“Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.”

People celebrate Halloween by trick or treating, carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, attending costume parties, lighting bonfires, decorating, apple bobbing and visiting haunted attractions. In various parts of the world, the Christian observances of All Hallows’ Eve include attending church services and lighting candles on the grave of the dead. They also had the tradition of replacing meat with vegetarian foods, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes and soul cakes.

Great haunted attractions to check out near you:

Six Flags: Fright Fest in Jackson New Jersey
Dorney Park: Halloween Haunt in Allentown Pennsylvania
Shady Brook: Horrorfest in Morrisville Pennsylvania
Bates Motel and hayride in Glen Mills Pennsylvania
Eastern State Penitentiary: Terror behind the Walls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania