When dressing up as witches, goblins and ghosts, many Halloween enthusiasts may be not realize the roots of this custom.Many people who call themselves witches don’t have green skin and warts, said Michael Dorn, president of the Pagan Community Council. A pagan is anyone involved in a life-affirming, earth-based religion that honors the effects of nature, Dorn said. Many pagans believe in two deities called Father Sky and Mother Earth. Most pagans hold a religious ceremony to celebrate Halloween and ask the deceased to predict the future, Dorn said. “This is the way people try to deal with the relationships to people passed,” he said. “When taken out of context, Halloween is given evil connotation which is not appropriate.” The pagan celebration of Halloween has been around since pre-Christian times. Trick-or-treating may have evolved from ancient Celtic New Year celebrations, Dorn said. Images of ghosts and goblins may have emerged from those who dressed in these costumes to represent the afterlife, Dorn said. Some religious groups celebrate All Saints Day in a similar fashion, said Beverly Schmidt, a Presbyterian pastor at the United Christian Services. Saints are remembered by lighting candles and singing hymns. “I don’t know if we’ve ever even talked about (Halloween),” she said. Some people do not celebrate Halloween because of the mystical connotations associated with it. “I’m not in (the pagan) religion so I don’t really feel a need to celebrate it. I don’t need to play with those supernatural forces,” said Garrick Farria, a Christian graduate student in American and African studies. But, those who want to celebrate Halloween have every right to celebrate it, he said.The council uses this holiday to collect cans of foods and donate them to local food banks.