I will not vouch for any part of this; but I received it in my e-mail today and will pass it along:

The History of Halloween in America

The Irish brought the holiday to the United States in the 1840's. Americans adopted the Jack-o'-lantern, a tradition started in Ireland as a result of folklore. The folk legend goes that Jack, a troublemaking old miser, trapped Satan in a tree and forced him to promise he'd never tempt Jack again. But upon his death, Jack found he couldn't get into heaven because of his earlier sins, or the underworld because of the trick he had played on Satan. So Jack was forced to walk the earth for eternity with only a coal in a hollowed-out turnip to light his way. Thus was born "Jack of the lantern," or the jack-o'-lantern.

Special decorations went up using colors that reflect the ancient origins: orange signifying harvest and black signifying death. Skeletons were added from the Day of the Dead festival celebrated in Mexico. Candy was chosen over soul cakes, costumes became funny as well as scary,

The first card made its appearance in 1920. In 1950, a group of Sunday school children decided to trick-or-treat for money for needy children rather than candy. They raised and donated $17.00 and started the tradition of trick-or-treating for UNICEF.

Halloween appears to be here to stay, so let the haunting begin