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Halloween is an ancient holiday that focuses attention on our mortality.

Humans have long used traditions, fantasy, and food to cope with stress.

Adults can find pumpkins, costumes, and candy as comforting as children do.

In recent years, it has become popular to bemoan the commercialism of Halloween. Traditionalists argue that it used to be a child’s celebration, characterized by groups of children meandering through suburban neighborhoods to collect candy, not an opportunity for adults to dress up, attend parties, and decorate their homes and offices. But this simplistic view of the growing popularity of the holiday doesn’t reflect the facts accurately.

As befits a holiday based on mystery and drama, the history of Halloween is murky. It is believed to have started with Celtic efforts to mark the transition from summer to winter by wearing costumes and using bonfires to scare away ghosts and bad luck. Practices like carving vegetables into scary faces to repel evil spirits were brought to the U.S. by Irish immigrants in the 1800s, but by the 1920s the holiday was often marked by mean-spirited pranks. Some believe that trick-or-treating emerged out of efforts to convert the holiday to a more child-focused community event.

How Halloween Became a Modern Multi-Generational Celebration

In the 21st century, Halloween has morphed into a costume-based celebration for people of all ages characterized by parties, costume contests, and festivals. So why would a secular-based holiday, which originated centuries ago, still resonate with us? Are we simply responding to marketing efforts designed to get us to buy plastic skeletons, costumes, and candy, or are there still valid psychological reasons for our interest in this holiday? It is probably a........

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