October 31 is Halloween. On that night, children wear funny costumes and enjoy visiting their neighbours, who give them sweets and snacks. If not, the children play a trick on them. People have parties and everyone has fun. Halloween is a very old festival. Over two thousand years ago, people in Europe hated winter because the weather was cold and dark, and they did not have enough food. On October 31, people lit big fires and wore costumes to frighten away evil ghosts. People were also frightened of evil witches who did bad things. There were also good witches, however, and at Halloween, they had big parties to which thousands of ordinary people came as well. People danced, got married, ate a lot, and talked about magic and medicines. Even today there are real witches in Europe and the US, though they do not usually wear the witch's costumes that lots of little girls like to wear on Halloween Night.