Trick or Treat? - Happy Halloween

wow...wow...wow! Americans rock in the way they celebrate events and occassions. We at University of Arizona have a system where each international student is matched with some local family and then (s)he enjoys the rest of the semester by going to different places and exploring unknown territories in their company. I got one such oppotunity today i.e. a day well remembered as Halloween in United States which usually spans over three days from Nov 1-3. I was taken to 'Rita Ranch' suburban area considered outside the Tucson city where the Halloween is still celebrated in its most traditional way. By traditional way I mean that people usually light up their place and usually decorate those with resemblance to haunted places. The very message is to remember/worship the devil and specially the known people who are no more.
The fun part to it was we went to each lit home and collected candies in a designated handbag (don't go to dark homes; thats an indication that those people are not celebrating or are left with no more candies). This event is celebrated all across United States and also in England. The very word Halloween is derived from 'Hallow' and 'eve' which means evening with holy. And mind you, people really put their hearts when they dole out the candies. Man, I am too impressed with the nature of American people. They really are super cool!