If you came to the Embassy today to apply for a visa, you may have seen the visa officers dressed up in strange costumes.  That is is because tomorrow is Halloween!

On Halloween, American children wear costumes - such as ghosts, animals, or their favorite cartoon characters - and go door-to-door collecting candy from their neighbors.  Adults also celebrate the occasion by attending costume parties.

            The origin of Halloween can be traced back to the ancient Celts’ celebration of Samhain on the evening of October 31. It featured the wearing of masks and other ceremonies to ward off the spirits of those who had died during the preceding year, which were believed to revisit the earth on that one night.

            Under the Romans, the holiday more closely came to resemble a harvest festival. As Christianity spread across Europe, folk beliefs often were adapted and incorporated, in their new forms, into such Christian occasions as All Saints’ Day (November 1). The evening immediately preceding All Saints’ Day was known originally as "All Hallows Eve" (“hallowed” means “sanctified” or “holy”), and it is from this title that Halloween derives its name.

            Halloween came to English North America via different immigrant groups. The New England Puritans disapproved, but the observance took hold in a number of Southern colonies and was spread broadly by mid-19th century Irish immigrants. In the United States, Halloween evolved into a holiday celebrated primarily by children.

      Today, the most prent Halloween customs are costumes and "trick-or-treating." While an estimated 36 million American youngsters dress up as “spooky” or supernatural characters — goblins, witches, skeletons and the like — the purpose is not to promote the occult, but to collect candy.