Do orange & black Halloween (US harvest celebration) colors refer to Irish Protestants and Catholics?

While there is considerable controversy surrounding questions about Halloween the timing is consistently Autumn and the celebration dates back as far as 1,000 BCE in Druid lore. It was the time of year when the spring/summer god Baal gave way to the Lord of the Dead, Samhain. Since the Celtic day ended at sundown, the new day began at the onset of darkness, further explaining the timing of the celebration. There are historical accounts in the Roman literature suggesting that the celebration included the sacrificial burning of a giant "wicker man" filled with humans.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2...

http://ferdyonfilms.com/Wicker%201.jpg

Could it be that the orange and black signify the burning wicker man against the black of night? Often, the simplest explanation is the correct one. (Occam's Razor - When competing hypotheses are equal in other respects, selecting the hypothesis that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities while still sufficiently answering the question.)

Coincidental- not related at all.

People today only guess at origin of the halloween colors.

Most speculate that Orange symbolizes Autumn and Black symbolizes Night or Death.

Below is a fun site I found a couple weeks ago.

http://www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/Candl...

"is also a good color to use to bring discord and confusion to enemies. Black can be used for protection, binding negative forces, and breaking up obstacles and blocks. Black can also be used to reverse and break up negative thoughtforms. Black absorbs, conceals, creates confusion and chaos, is used for new beginnings, and obtaining knowledge of hidden things. Black is the container of light, and is one of the most powerful of colors. Saturn rules black. Black influences self-control, endurance, and patience. Spells using black energy are best performed during a waning Moon, on a Saturday when the planet Saturn is strongly placed and waxing."

"Orange helps in spells for adaptability, sexual attraction, sexual stimulation, sex magick, enthusiasm, and energy. Orange helps with attraction, sudden changes, energy stimulation, gaining control, changing luck and inciting justice. The Sun rules orange. Workings using orange energy are best performed on a Sunday when the Sun is strongly placed. Spells using orange need the power of the sacral and/or solar chakras. For inciting lust and sexual attraction, use the sacral and root chakras. "

But my wife would say that black and orange go well together, like red and green.