This diagram of Halloween traditions and history depicts The holiday evolved from ancient rituals that marked the transition from summer to winter, associating it with transformation, which remains a central theme of the holiday. Halloween is one of the world's oldest traditions, touching on an essential aspect of the human condition: the relationship between the living and the dead. Every recorded civilization has developed some ritual observance centered on what happens to people when they die and how the living should best honor those killed or respond to the dead who appear unwilling or unable to move on. Today, countries celebrate Halloween in some form or another, beginning with Mexico's Day of the Dead.
