MUNCIE, Ind. -- Do you ever wonder what the word "Halloween" means? When you hear "trick or treat" from a child dressed in a store-bought Princess Leia or Darth Vader suit, do you ever wonder why?

"Our Halloween celebrations are the remnants of the ancient pre-Christian Celtic celebrations," said Fred Suppe, a Ball State University expert in Celtic folklore. "The Celts can be traced back to 800 b.c. to what is now Southern Germany and include the ancestors of the Scottish, Irish, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Bretons. There are particular motifs of modern-day Halloween such as the date and time it is celebrated, children trick-or-treating, the jack-o-lantern and bobbing for apples that are related to Celtic traditions."

When Christianity was introduced to the Celtic people the Christian Church urged the Celts to abandon their pagan celebrations and adopt the Christian calendar. Because these traditions were culturally ingrained, the church provided an alternative holy day, All Saint’s day, on November 1.

The evening before All Saint's day became 'hallow's eve' with the word hallow meaning 'holy' or 'saint' and eve meaning the night before," explained Dr. Suppe, "Hallow's eve evolved to Halloween."

Why do children wear costumes and ask for treats on halloween?

"Part of the reason is that the bright half of the year in Celtic tradition held spirits and evil at bay," Suppe said. "When the dark half came the spirits came out to play pranks or to trick people. The 'Pooka' was a spirit that liked to play pranks. Offering a 'treat' as hospitality was a way to avoid the pooka's tricks."

During this time, Celts stayed inside to protect themselves displaying fire in some kind of vegetation on the doorstep to guard their homes and to placate the Pooka. The fire represented qualities of the sun and the bright half of the year. Today we display jack-o-lanterns made of pumpkins.

Another reason for trick-or-treating comes from Scotland where young men in their late teens donned disguises after the harvest.

"The Celts called them 'guisers' which is where we get the word geezer," he said, "The guisers would march around a house and demand hospitality, which evolved into small children asking for treats."

How about bobbing for apples at a halloween party?

"Apples were an important symbol in Celtic folklore. They were connected with foretelling the future. The word apple was actually 'aval' in Celtic, so the Avalon of Arthur's day simply meant an 'apple place,'" Suppe said.

Celtish girls thought this fruit could foretell their future mates. For example, in Cornwall when a young woman wanted to know who might become her future mate, she would peel an apple in one continuous strip and drop it on the floor to shape the first letter of her young man’s name.

"A young lady selected an apple and marked it in a particular way," Suppe said. "Then she placed her apple in a tub of water with other selected apples. The young men then ‘bobbed’ for the apples. The apple the young man won determined the girl he would one day marry."

Wrapped in the shrouds of the past, we still begin the dark half of the year with celebrations. "Ceremonies like this are very tenacious. We have a certain social significance attached to them," Suppe said. Although we may lose the meaning behind the tradition, the tradition survives and evolves. So, enjoy the festivities and watch out for the Pooka this year!

(If you are interested in reading more about Celtic folklore Dr. Suppe suggests reading The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands by Anne Ross.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about this story, contact Frederick Suppe at 765-285-8715.)