Email me with any neat Halloween costume ideas, recipes, or facts & I will post them on the site. Enjoy!

Halloween... The very sound of it sends a shiver of anticipation up my spine. The weather is getting colder, perfect for a cozy hay ride in the country cuddled up with your significant other. This is the time of year when we wind down from summer fun and frolicking and put our noses back to the grindstone, whether it be in school or at your 8 to 5 daily grind. So of course we look forward to Halloween as a time to let our inner child out and have some freaky fun!

"Samhain" (pronounced SEW- en) was the Celts ancient fire festival at the end of October to celebrate the last day of summer and the beginning of the winter season.

The Catholic Church adopted the holiday in the 8th century by naming November 1 "All Saints Day". It was a holy day of obligation for any Saint that had no specific day of worship already. Hence "All Hallows Eve" , which shortened over time to "Halloween".

Halloween was brought to America by none other than Irish immigrants fleeing the havoc caused the Potato Famine of the 1840s.

Did you know that the Jack O'Lantern also has Irish roots?? Well, it seems that Jack, an Irish blacksmith from the 18th century, signed some sort of pact with the Devil and therefore was denied entrace in Heaven's Pearly Gates. He was condemned to wander the Earth in darkness. So he carried with him a carved out turnip lit with a candle to light his way. When the Irish brought this tradition to the States, they found pumpkins much more available than turnips & therefore the tradition of carving out Jack O'Lanterns' was born!

So remember your Irish roots this Halloween holiday season & tell all your friends & neighbors that they have the Irish, yet again, to thank for one of our modern day traditions!