There are many names for Halloween, including Halloweve, Halleve, Hallowtide, Hollandtide, Hallowmas, November Eve, Holy Eve, Whistle Wassail Night, and Hallowe'en. The modern name “Halloween” (for the festival celebrated on October 31) derives from “All Hallows’ Even,” or the night before All Saints ’ or “All Hallows’ Day.” The word “hallow” is from an early English word for “holy,” and until about a.d. 1500 “hallow” was a noun commonly applied to a holy personage or saint. “All Hallows’ Even” was first abbreviated to “Hallowe'en,” and sometime in the mid-twentieth century the use of the apostrophe was dropped, leading to the contemporary name for the holiday. Halloween is largely a combination of two celebrations: As a harvest festival, it is similar to the American Thanksgiving and the European Martinmas (which is celebrated on the day once belonging to Halloween, November 11); and as a commemoration of the dead, it may have roots in the Egyptian Feast of the Dead (which mourned the…