The Romans eventually conquered the Celts and Druids and over the 400 or so years of Roman rule, the festival of Samhain changed as it absorbed some elements of Roman festivals and deity worship. One change incorporated a Roman tradition of honoring the dead that took place in late October and the other was the celebration of the goddess Pamona; the goddess of fruit and trees. Some believe that this is where the Hallowe’en tradition of bobbing for apples began.. Christianity also has influenced the Celt and Roman evolution of Samhain. Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as All Saints Day (from the Middle English, Alhalowmeese as a means to honor the saints and martyrs. It is thought that this was done as to dilute the influence of the pagan festival and to transform it into one of Christian celebration. While it maintained many of the characteristics of Samhain, it was a church sanctioned celebration as opposed to a pagan ritual. This tactic caused the celebration of Samhain to be known as the celebration of All Hallows Eve and eventually Halloween. Eventually, the church would designate November 2, as All Souls Day as a day for honoring the dead. This latest was celebrated similar to Samhain, with parades, costumes of saints, devils and angels, as well as the customary bonfires. Eventually, Halloween made its way to America along with a diverse European population. It didn’t catch on right away in New England because of the mostly fundamentalist Protestant population that dominated the region. However, in the southern colonies; especially Maryland, the holiday was widely accepted and meshed well with local native American populations. The early versions included plays, storytelling, and neighbors sharing stories about the dead, singing, dancing and other celebratory activities. Colonial celebrations included mischief making as well as upgraded story telling. With the great potato famine in Ireland of 1846 came a wave of new immigrants, especially the Irish and the British who brought with them their Hallowe’en traditions of going house to house in costume asking for money, food, or some treat that became the standard for today’s “Trick or Treat” celebrations. Young women believed that on Hallowe’en, they could divine the names of their future husbands by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors. In the early part of the century, entire communities began to celebrate Hallowe’en with parties, games, seasonal meals and decorative costumes and to focus on fun. As a result, most of the mysticism and superstition of Hallowe’en was stripped away and a new secular holiday was born full of parades, fun celebrations for adults and especially for children. The entire day and evening was one long party at town civic centers and arenas. Eventually, like all good things, some started a culture of vandalism that caused the parties to eventually move to school buildings or into private homes to diminish the anonymity afforded by crowds. Americans, today, spend nearly 7 billion dollars on Halloween, and that makes it second only to Christmas in money spent. Happy Hallowe’en everybody!