Halloween developed from a combination of Samhain with Christian holidays for honoring the dead, such as All Saints’ Day, with which Samhain coincides, and All Souls’ Day. It is unclear what elements of Samhain survived in local Allhallowtide traditions in Ireland and Great Britain, nor is it known which practices of those Christian holidays arose independently of Samhain. It is possible that wearing masks and costumes as well as carving frightening faces into turnips (which turned into pumpkins in the United States) and using them as lanterns developed from Samhain traditions.
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