What is Halloween?

Over in America, Halloween is an incredibly popular holiday.

On the 31st October, the entire nation is caught up in the excitement of costumes, candy and commercialism.

All Hallows Eve is a wonderful excuse to dress up and unleash your inner monster - or just curl up on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and some scary movies.

One of my colleagues asked me if we celebrate Halloween in Europe. We do, certainly - but not on nearly the same scale as it's done in America.

Which is funny, since research suggests that Halloween originated in Europe - Ireland, specifically. Before Christianity arrived on the shores of Eire, the autumn festival of Oiche Shamha celebrated the end of summer and communities would burn large communal bonfires to ward off the spirits of the dead, who were traditionally most able to commune with the living at the height of Autumn.

Like many pagan festivals, they were adopted and adapted by the Christian church and Oiche Shama or Samhain became All Hallows Eve.

The popularity of Halloween in America probably has much to do with the enormous numbers of Irish immigrants who travelled to the New World in the nineteenth century. Certainly, the major traditions of Halloween, like dressing is costume and carving 'Jack of Lanterns' from pumpkins or turnips, are Irish in origin and still practised there.

It wasn't until the 20th century that Halloween became so universal and commercialised. Before then it was often seen as an Irish or Celtic festival, much like Columbus Day is for Italian Americans.

However in 1905, ghoulish Halloween postcards became available and spread knowledge of the festival across the United States. The tone of the holiday struck the fancy of the American nation and in very short order, the manufacture of Halloween decorations and costumes became a widespread and profitable business.

These days, Halloween is enormous, with a reported 93 percent of American children going out 'trick or treating' on the 31st October. Most people secretly admit it's their favourite holiday and many parents take the day off work to enjoy the festivities with their kids.

Although rather morbid in nature, the spirit of Halloween is infectious and I have to admit that I've really enjoyed my first ever American 'All Hallows Eve.'

For adults, I think part of the fun is choosing a costume that reflects who you really see yourself as deep inside. For ladies, it's often a sultry vampire or other creature that better reflects the seductress within (who they are only brave enough to unleash on Halloween.) For men, it's often fearsome serial killers and mad scientists from movies and TV, who represent freedom from the inhibitions of polite society.

And for me? Well, I wore my kilt to work, which wasn't really a costume at all.

But in the end I decided to go as V from the comic book and movie V for Vendetta. I certainly don't see myself as an anarchist, but there was something about the suave, charming, ruthless and romantic freedom fighter that appealed to the Saint-like buccaneer buried deep within.

What does you Halloween costume say about you?

Happy Halloween!