By CASEY RESSLER

Valley Life editor

Fright night

By CASEY RESSLER-Valley Life editor

When you start thinking about religious holidays, Christmas is right there at the top of the list, and everybody knows the history of that holiday. But Halloween is another religious holiday, and often, that gets overlooked during the celebration of ghosts, ghouls and goblins.

Halloween certainly isn't a "young" holiday, as it has been celebrated around the world for centuries.

Halloween, which is called Hallow E'en in Ireland, means "All Hallows Eve," or the night before All Hallows, which is Nov. 1. Roman Catholics, Epsicopalians and Lutherans used to observe All Hallows Day to honor saints in heaven, both the known and unknown, and it was a highlight of the Church's calendar.

"They used to consider it with all solemnity as one of the most significant observances of the Church year," reports the Web site theholidayspot.com, which contains the history of several holidays.

The festival was originally celebrated on Feb. 21, which is the end of the Roman year. In the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV introduced All Saints' Day to replace the festival of the dead that was being celebrated, and he decided it would be held on May 13. Later, Gregory III changed the date to Nov. 1.

The American version of Halloween can be traced to an ancient Druidic festival called Samhain, which was a feast of the dead, signalizing both the close of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. So how did we get from the feast of the dead to "trick or treat?" History has a way of slowly changing traditions and customs, but nearly every American Halloween custom can be traced in some way to the Celts.

The wearing of costumes and going trick or treating began during the same time, during the first centuries of the Christian era.

It was through the souls of the dead were out and about, along with fairies, witches and demons. As time went by, it was believed these wayward souls were looking for food and drink, and soon, food and drink was left out for them. As more centuries went by, people started dressing like the souls of the dead, and went from residence to residence performing a wide range of things such as funny and frightful skits in exchange for the food and drink. Samhain has also influenced other Halloween traditions. Bobbing for apples and carving pumpkins can be traced back to the Samhain festival.

Many people fundamentally disagree with the celebration of Halloween because of the connection to "evil" in the form of ghosts. In some cities, such as Detroit, Halloween is a night of concern. Many people turn to criminal activities, making it unsafe for some law-abiding citizens to get out and enjoy the night. In the past, large fires intentionally started by Halloween revelers have torn through commerical districts in Detroit.

For some parents, however, the commercial end of Halloween is far more disturbing than the spiritual and criminal aspects of the holiday.

"Halloween is all about marketing and business now," said Gregory Hall, a Palmer father of three young children. "I've got a boy who has to be Spiderman because the movie just came out, and that will be 50 bucks, and my daughter just saw Harry Potter, so she has to be him, and that's another 50 bucks. Well, my youngest daughter has to be something just as 'cool' as her brother and sister, and that will cost us another 75 bucks. It's gotten so that parents can't afford it any more.

"I remember when I was a kid, we'd get a sheet and some markers and spend a day turning ourselves into a mummy or a ghost. Kids don't understand stuff like that these days," Hall said. "Halloween isn't so much about going trick or treating and having fun like it use to be. It's about getting the latest, greatest costume of the hero in the latest, greatest movie or the latest, greatest book."

Trick or treat alternatives abound

Many parents try to avoid the door-to-door ritual known as trick or treating, if for no other reason than the inconvenience Alaska winters provide to the tradition. That's why many community groups step up and provide safe and fun Halloween alternatives.

This year, Halloween Hollow takes over Raven Hall on the Alaska State Fairgrounds from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The carnival is being used as a fund-raiser for the Special Santa/Toys for Tots drive, and is being sponsored by local businesses. Businesses will have individual games and trick or treat opportunities for children, who must be attending with an adult.

Admission is one unwrapped toy per child, which will be donated to the Special Santa program. Each child will receive 25 tickets to be used for various carnival games. Prizes will be given away throughout the evening.

The Central Mat-Su Fire Department is hosting Halloween open houses at three locations, and families are invited to attend.

Three fire stations are offering open houses from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The three stations participating are -- Station 61 at the corner of Lucille and Swanson in Wasilla, Station 62 at the corner at Mile 7 Knik-Goose Bay Road and Station 65 at the corner of Seward Meridian and the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

At the open house, children can safely trick or treat and take tours of the fire stations. There will be information available for families regarding fire safety, and about how the fire department works.

For more information about the fire department open houses, interested people can call Denise McGowen, support services coordinator, at 373-8800.

At various schools, there are a number of harvest celebrations and Halloween festivities planned. Some are costume-related, while other schools have gotten away from the Halloween theme and have focused on "harvest celebrations." Contact your local school to find out what kind of special carnivals are being offered this week.

Many schools are hosting their event the day after Halloween, on Friday night. That includes Butte Elementary School, which is hosting its celebration on Nov. 1 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. For information, interested people can contact Bea Justen at 745-4871.