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| Posthumous portrait of Keats by William Hilton |
The tradition of dressing up on Halloween originates from the Celts, who were known to wear costumes and masks to these festivals in an attempt to appease evil spirits, thought to bring problems to the living on Halloween.
To try and frighten off any superstitions, the Europeans began making lanterns from carved vegetables (predominantly turnips), lit by a candle inside. The "head" of turnips were used, with the belief that the head was the most powerful part of the body, containing the spirit and the knowledge.
The carving of pumpkins is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols today. However, it wasn't until the 1860s that the pumpkin became associated with Halloween - a tradition originating from North America, where pumpkins were readily available and much larger, making them easier to carve.
Halloween was brought to the USA by the Irish but the associations the Americans have with it such as black cats and witchcraft come from Africa.
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| 1517 Nuremberg printing of the Ninety-five Theses as a placard |
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