While Halloween can be a lot of fun for children, the controversy surrounding it can also confuse them. If they are in school you can be sure they will hear many different views on how Halloween came to be and just as many people will tell them that it is a tradition that shouldn’t be celebrated. Below are some tips to help you explain the holiday and its traditions to your little ones when they come home looking for answers.

You may want to start by explaining the origins of Halloween to your children. Halloween originated from Irish Celts which is still celebrated in Ireland, the UK and particularly USA today. There are many different traditions that Halloween customs are rooted in. The main traditions being in Christian Origins but having traditions in Samhain as well.

Explain that as the tradition of Halloween spread the church decided to make Nov. 1 All Saints Day in honor of the saints who did not have their own holiday. The night before it was then dubbed as All Hallows Eve.

Make sure to discuss the origins of the all-important trick or treating with them. The tradition is said to have started in a couple of ways. One of them being that on All Souls Day early Christians would go door to door begging for “soul cakes” and offering up a prayer for the givers soul in return. The wearing of masks is said to have come from Samhains day when the partiers would put on mask that were supposed to represent the dead and go from house to house collecting food that was meant for the departed souls. Try and explain this in a way that isn’t scary to young children but gets the point across about the traditions of different cultures.

It is also helpful to explain where the tradition of wearing a costume came from. There are many fearful people in the world even today. There were many more in olden times. It is said that the line between the living and the dead is weakest on Halloween letting the spirits cross over to our side of the world. Many people started wearing costumes to keep from the spirits recognizing them as being among the living.

A fun thing to share with the youngsters who are asking questions is the history of the jack-o-lantern. Jack-o-lanterns were actually turnips not pumpkins and it is said that the tradition originated with a man named Jack who had tricked the devil. He was condemned to walking the earth in the darkness as he was barred from both heaven and hell. He had only one coal to light his way. This is the reason why we put candles in pumpkins to this day.

You can celebrate Halloween with your children in a fun way by helping them to carve out a pumpkin and to dress up.