HALLOWEEN promises to be somewhat different this year - with 2020 struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.
Restrictions on social gatherings and social distancing rules are likely to curtail the house-to-house ‘trick or treating' and the rummaging through bowls of sweets that has become popular in recent times.
However, there are still ways to make sure families and youngsters still share some of the fun of the evening.
Dressing up, lantern making and special Halloween treats at home can all be enjoyed in the family home. Window decorations can be admired from afar.
Spooky stories can be swapped around the light of a pumpkin lantern and games can still be organised. How about a stay-at-home sweets hunt?
Halloween - the facts
HALLOWEEN is celebrated each year on October 31. The tradition is said to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
According to history.com, The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, celebrated their new year on November 1.
The day before marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.
The Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred and the ghosts of those that had passed returned to Earth.
In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honour all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain, according to the website.
The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.