Prior to coming to the United States for graduate school in the late 1960’s the idea of Halloween, trick-or-treating, jack-o-lanterns, carving, eating, drawing pumpkins or decorating my house with various Halloween related artifacts was somewhat foreign to me. I knew about the holiday and celebrations from things I had read, but I had no experience with the American celebration.  Children in Mexico, where I grew up, did not wear costumes on Halloween. Instead, November 1 was designated as a celebration to pay tribute to all Saints and November 2 was a date to designate the remembrance of those who had passed. For these occasions, special bread was baked called “pan de muertos” (bread of the dead) and to dispel evil spirits, candy skeletons and skulls were made.