Halloween 2025: When is Halloween? Why is it celebrated? Know history and significance of spooky festival in US, Canada

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Halloween 2025: When is Halloween?

Halloween, the much-anticipated festival of fright and fun, is celebrated every year on October 31. In 2025, it falls on a Friday, promising a weekend filled with costumes, candy, and creative chaos. The date marks the eve of All Saints’ Day, a time once linked to ancient Celtic harvest rituals and beliefs about spirits crossing into the world of the living.

Today, the event is synonymous with carved pumpkins, spooky decor, and late-night revelry – a day when eerie folklore meets modern-day festivities, and everyone gets to embrace their playful, spooky side.

Halloween 2025: Why is it celebrated?

Halloween traces back to ancient Celtic origins and Christian roots, and is noted for its secular traditions. The tradition originated from the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter in what is now Ireland, the UK and northern France. The Celts believed that on the eve of Samhain the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred, allowing spirits to roam the earth freely. People lit bonfires and wore disguises to ward off or evade these wandering souls. With the spread of Christianity, the feast of All Saints’ Day (also called All Hallows) was set on November 1, and the evening before became known as All Hallows’ Eve, later shortened to Halloween.

Over the centuries, Halloween evolved into a largely secular celebration involving costumes, parties, jack-o′-lanterns and trick-or-treating – blending folklore, community rituals and fun rather than strictly religious observance. While the original emphasis was on remembrance of the dead and the supernatural, in modern times Halloween is significant as both a cultural event and a celebration of imagination, creativity and social fun.

Halloween 2025: How is Halloween celebrated now?

In today’s world, Halloween has transformed into a global costume party, celebrating creativity and community spirit. People of all ages dress up in imaginative costumes – from spine-chilling ghosts to pop culture icons – and decorate their homes with carved pumpkins, cobwebs and flickering lanterns. The highlight remains trick-or-treating, where children go door to door collecting sweets and chocolates.

Halloween parties, haunted house tours, and themed events keep the festive energy alive, while social media amplifies the spectacle with costume trends and decor ideas. The festival is gaining traction in countries like India and being embraced by the younger crowds, blending Western influences with local flair.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only.