What we currently know as Halloween stems from the old Celtic festival Samhain. Following the influences the Romans and the Christians had on the Celtic holiday Samhain, the name of the holiday began to change as well. Christians incorporated remembrance of the saints to try and change the festival period from a pagan celebration to a Christian celebration of All Saints and All Souls. The Christians began calling the day of sacrifice All-hallows Eve, which was a way of reflecting the day prior to "All-Saints Day". "Saint" in Old English was referred to as "Hallow", and over time the tradition was called Hallowe'en. Later the name was simplified to "Halloween". Halloween was one of the three days of seasonal celebration for the pagans. Once European people migrated to America during the first half of the nineteenth century, the customs and traditions of the Halloween holiday were brought over as well. This holiday was quickly adapted in the colonies of the South such as Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina; however these practices were still limited because of the belief system established by the Protestant people. Incorporating this tradition into the Americas at this time allowed the Halloween holiday to be influenced by both the American people and the American Indian people and thus developed an American adaptation of Halloween. The Halloween celebrations in America were more along the lines of "festivals", which were held publically and allowed the people of the land to converse with each other, sharing the good and bad news of their harvests. The people also took part in telling stories of loved ones who had died, and tried to make sense of what the future would hold. The tradition of dancing and singing at this festival was slowly incorporated into the celebration Later on during the colonial period, Halloween included the tradition of ghost-stories being told by the natives. The art of pranking and practicing witchcraft also became part of the tradition. At this point, Halloween was still not practiced everywhere in the United States. Later in the century as Halloween became more and more popular, people found themselves celebrating the holiday by throwing small parties for both children and adults. The act of dressing up remained part of the tradition, but now the holiday also consisted of gathering treats such as candy and food, and incorporated games and costumes that were more along the lines of festive, rather than sacrificial. The popularity of the Halloween tradition really hit its peak sometime between 1920 and 1930. People were starting to celebrate the holiday more openly, which drew in larger crowds and bigger events. The disapproval of any activities that incorporated fear or fright kept the holiday enjoyable and engaging for young children as well as adults. Halloween was now a time not only for family members, but strangers as well, to get together and enjoy the "day of the dead". Over time, different methods of allowing people to enjoy the holiday, rather than fear it, began to emerge. The art of trick-or-treating began to resurface from older practices that were established centuries before. The people of the community found that trick-or-treating allowed the children to not only enjoy Halloween night, but to inexpensively get a treat out of what used to be a night used to worship the dead. Even dating back to the days of Halloween traditions in England, when the poor people for the town were offered food, mainly pastries, in exchange for their prayers for the families of loved ones, Halloween has carried the tradition of incorporating the dead with the living. Currently in the United States, Halloween is the second largest holiday celebration. While the tradition of the holiday remains the same, the festivals, activities and ceremonies that are held in celebration of it are still constantly changing. But even now the oldest tradition of incorporating scary ghost stories and apologues of the dead is going strong. Many people tend to believe that Halloween is only celebrated in the United States; however, many countries such as Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, the United Kingdom and even Australia are all familiar with this holiday held every year on October 31st. Even the act of trick-or-treating, or Beggars night, is practiced in these countries as it is here in the U.S.