<P> It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church . Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain . </P> <P> Halloween activities include trick - or - treating (or the related guising), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack - o' - lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, and watching horror films . In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration . Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes . </P> <P> The word Halloween or Hallowe'en dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin . The word "Hallowe'en" means "hallowed evening" or "holy evening". It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve (the evening before All Hallows' Day). In Scots, the word "eve" is even, and this is contracted to e'en or een . Over time, (All) Hallow (s) E (v) en evolved into Hallowe'en . Although the phrase "All Hallows"' is found in Old English "All Hallows' Eve" is itself not seen until 1556 . </P> <P> Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic - speaking countries, some of which are believed to have pagan roots . Jack Santino, a folklorist, writes that "there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived". Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which comes from the Old Irish for "summer's end". </P>

Where did the halloween tradition originally come from
find me the text answering this question