Halloween is an ancient Irish feast day, celebrating the end of the fruitful time of the year, and the passing into the dark days of winter. Known as Samhain, many traditions still abound in rural areas concerning it. It is the one night of the year when the gates between this world and the other world are open, and spirits of the dead may pass freely between both. Farmers and gardeners are still anxious to have all their fruit and produce harvested before this date. Any fruit not harvested is liable to be polluted and rendered uneatable by a particularly hostile spirit known as the Púca.

Nowdays, of course, Halloween has been Disneyfied, and the trick-or-treat culture is all-pervasive among the children.