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When we think of Halloween Evel Knievel America, we think of auto insurance rates comparison many traditions that are associated with the holiday. The most common tradition is dressing in Halloween costumes. Did you know that Halloween is one of the oldest holidays and that dressing in costumes for this day dates back thousands of years? Every culture throughout history has had a hand in bringing something to the table IRS lawyer it comes to Halloween costumes and traditions.

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated Arizona Lemon Laws New Year on November 1st. This day marked the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. They believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On October 31st, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. To commemorate the event, Celtic priests built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic Gods. During the celebration they wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

Later in history, the Catholic Church wanted to do away with pagan beliefs and tried to turn Halloween into a festival for the saints. They called it "All Souls Day" and the night before was called "All Hallows Eve," when the supernatural and the living came together. The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" dates back to the early All Souls Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The practice, referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would IRS tax attorney the houses in their neighborhood and be given drink, food and money.

Immigrants flooded America in the 1800s bringing with them many Halloween traditions. Americans began to dress up in costumes and go from door-to-door asking for food or money. By the 1920's Halloween had become completely neighborhood-friendly with parades and parties for the whole town. The popular costumes were the Mummy, Dracula and the jazz inspired Flapper. Then in the 1950s the holiday began to focus on the young due to the baby boom of the time. Trick-or-treating was an inexpensive way for an entire community to share in the Halloween celebration. Costumes changed to a more wholesome look as Superman, Batman, ballerinas and Barbie's. A new American tradition was born and it has continued to grow into the billion dollar holiday it is today!

Although costumes have come a long way from the "animal heads and skins" that the Celts wore, we are proud to carry on the tradition of dressing up for Halloween. Today, costumes range from the sweet and innocent to the horrific and satanic. Even though in the past Halloween has been thought of as a holiday geared toward children, more and more adults are getting into the ghostly spirit of things making up a huge percentage of costume buyers. It just goes to show that Halloween is fun at any age!

Anna Bradford is an author and blogger for Halloween Express where you'll find the absolute largest selection of halloweenexpress.comHalloween costumes and costume accessories available anywhere. Halloween Express has the new for 2008 halloweenexpress.com/kids-costumes-c-2.htmlKids Costumes and halloweenexpress.com/teen-costumes-c-2_39.htmlTeen Costumes.

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