Lewiston's scary and not-so-scary Halloween characters

Halloween does not feel like Halloween without decorations, either autumnal or scary. There has to be a few pumpkins and a few scarecrows and a few skeletons and other characters to give Halloween that special look. 

But where did all those scary and not-so-scary things come from? Why do we have a "Halloween"?There was a time when Halloween was called "All Hallow's Eve." It was the night before All Saints' Day (November 1st). It may have been based on a Celtic festival called Samhain. During pre-Christian times, Celtic people lived in many parts of Europe. On that night, the ghosts of the dead could mingle with living people before traveling into the Other World. There were sacrifices made to the dead and bonfires were lit so that the dead could see their way to the Other World.

On All Hallow's Eve, people wore costumes and left out plates of food for the spirits as they traveled to the spirit world.

Now, in the 21st century, Samhain is a distant memory. I will share more Halloween stories next Saturday (on Halloween). In the meantime, here are pictures of how Lewiston, New York, dresses its business district for Halloween. Enjoy.