First of all, I must admit my ignorance as I always thought that the holiday has its origins in America. Then I discovered that it has simply become an Americanization over the years. So, it is a good example of how a culture can be influenced by another culture, such as in this particular case where it happens the substitution of the Celtic culture with American culture.
The ancient Irish called the festival "Samhain", which is now the Gaelic word for the month of November, although in recent times the Hallowe'en is celebrated on October 31st. The word Hallowe'en is of Scottish origin, and comes from "Hallows Evening".
The sacrifice marked the end of the final harvest period of late summer and the move into the winter season, with the storage of provisions and readying for cold months ahead. It was believed that the gap between the living world and the spirit world was at it's weakest and interaction between these worlds was easiest at this point in the ancient calendar.
Hallowe'en was also viewed as a time when evil spirits, the devil and witches were at their most powerful.
In ancient Ireland, Hallowe'en came close to the feast of St. Columba and it was traditional for some people to go from door-to-door collecting bread, money, eggs, nuts and apples. It was felt that these offerings gave protection against bad luck. Nowadays, this practice is known as "Trick or Treat", with the household which gives the least offering liable to have a "trick" carried out against it.
Personally I hate this holiday and I have never been used to celebrate it. In Italy it has become a fashion to celebrate it as people are all worried about their disguise for the night they are going to have a party in one of the discoteques all around.
I think that it's mainly a question of consumerism which makes sellers to earn a lot of money thanks to the numbers of gadgets they sell for Holloween.
Anyway, I don't feel about criticizig those celebrating the holyday because it depends on our culture how we approach it.
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