Topic : Halloween

Specific Purpose : To inform my audience about the Halloween custom.

Central Idea : Halloween is one of the oldest holidays and the modern

celebration is a descendent of the ancient Celtic fire festival.

Main Points : I. The history of Halloween

II. Trick ‘O’ Treat

III. The Witches’ Caldron

IV. The Pumpkin Patch

V. Los Dias De Los Muertos (The Days of the Dead)

Introduction

I. Listen to this story.

A. John was driving home late night and saw a lady waiting at bus stop.

B. He offered to give her a ride.

C. The air was getting chilly and he lent her his jacket.

D. John found out her name was Mary and she was going to her home.

E. One hour later, they arrived and John let her off by the front door and went

home himself.

F. The next day, John remembered that Mary still had his jacket.

G. He drove to her house and knocked the door

H. An old woman answered him.

I. John told her about the ride and he had come to get back the jacket he had

lent her daughter, Mary.

 J. The old woman look confused.

K. John noticed a picture of Mary and he pointed out to the woman that the girl

who he had given a ride.

L. With her voice shaking, the woman told John that her daughter had been dead

for many years and was buried in a cemetery that was about an hour’s drive

away near a bus stop.

M. John went to the cemetery and he saw his jacket folded neatly on top of a

grave.

N. He found that the name of the tombstone was Mary.

II. The above ghost story and Halloween are linked each other because both are about

spiritual world.

A. Halloween has been celebrated at the end of October for thousands of years.

B. In 5th century BC, the Celts, a people from central Europe celebrated Samhain

( sow-en ) which one of the most popular of the witches' holidays in the pagan

history.

1. The believed that the spirits of all those had died would come back in

search of living body to possess.

2. By dressing up in ghoulish costumes, they thought it could frighten the

spirit away.

C. Christian church made November 1st, “All Saints Day” which a festival

celebrated in honor of all the saints.

1. The night before was known as “All Hollows Eve”.

 a. Eventually this name became Halloween.

III. Since there is no celebration of Halloween day in Malaysia, most people are quite

interested in finding out what actually Halloween is.

1. Therefore, my members and I have done a lot of research by reading the

articles which are related to the topic

2. We also managed to get a wide range of information from internet.

IV. Today, we would like to share with you all what we have discovered about this

topic.

1. We would like to let you know about the history of Halloween, trick ‘o’ treat

customs, the witches’ caldron, the pumpkin patch and Los Dias De Los Muertos,

which means the Days of the Dead.

(Transition: )
 Body

I. Halloween Day celebration and Halloween custom had their beginning in an

ancient, pre-Christian Druid Fire Festival.

A. According to their calendar, the Celts celebrated their New Year on

November 1st.

1. The festival was celebrated every year.

a. It marked the end of the “season of the sun” and the

beginning of “the season of darkness and cold”.

B. Halloween, which was at the same time an ending and a beginning in

eternal cycle, the spirit world could intermingle with the living.

1. They believed that the souls of those who had died during the

preceding year traveled into the other world.

2. They lit bonfires in honor of the dead to aid them on their journey, and

to keep them away from the living.

a) They would also dress up in all manner of dark costumes such as

ghosts, fairies, witches, demons, etc.

b) After that, they loudly paraded around the neighborhood.

 C. October 31st became known as Halloween day.

1. It is a combination of various festivals, which were held thousands of

years ago.

a. It was influenced by Roman Pomona Day which celebrated after

harvesting.

b. It was also influenced by Festival of Samhain which was the feast

of the dead in Pagan and Christian times and also known as a harvest

festival.

c. It was also adopted from the All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day‘s.

(Transition: )

III. Trick ‘O’ Treat is a time when the children will dress in witch or ghost costumes.

A. They walk around in the neighborhood, go from house to house and shamelessly

ask people for candies or treats.

1. If the owner of the house fails to supply the treats, it will usually result a

practical joke will be played on him or her.

a. “Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, give me something good to eat!!”

i. This is the favourite chant among the children during Halloween

day.

B. “Trick-or-treat” custom originated with a ninth century European custom called

souling.

1. On November 2nd, which is “All Souls Day”, the poor would go begging and
 the housewives would give them special treats called “soul cake”.

a. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they

would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors.

2. Over time the custom changed and the town’s children became the beggars.

a. As they went from house to house, they would be given apples, buns and

money.

b. The children would shout ‘Trick or Treat’, then the housewives would

give the children candy to keep from being tricked.

(Transition: )

III. Witches have had a long history with Halloween.

A. On the eve of October 31, it is a night where witches gather.

1. This night is called The Witches Caldron.

a. It is believed that witches will arrive on broomsticks.

i. They want to celebrate a party hosted by devil.

b. Witches will transform themselves into different forms and causing

other magical mischief.

B. It is also said that the witches will associate with black cat at that night.

1. They will change into cats.

a. It is because cats were the spirits of the dead and usually black cat will

bring bad luck if cross path.

(Transition: )

IV. The Pumpkins Patch is also connected with Halloween.

A. On the Halloween night, the lantern was carved out of big turnip.

1. The lights were believed to keep the evil spirits away.

2. The carved turnips were called Jack-O-Lanterns.

a. Jack-O-Lanterns was a stingy and old man named who when he died

was too mean to get into heaven.

b. At hell, he met Devil who gave him a piece burning coal and

sent him away.

c. He placed it in a turnip to use as lantern to light his way.

(Transition: )

V. Los Dias De Los Muertos is celebrated every year at the same time as Halloween.

A. It is the day to celebrate the Mexican Holiday and also known as days of the dead.

1. The Days of Dead is a traditional Mexico holiday honoring the dead.

a. It is time of remembering and rejoicing the dead.

B. On The days of dead, the townspeople dress up like ghosts, ghouls, mummies and

skeletons.

1. They carry an open coffin which contains corpse.

a. It is carried through the narrow streets of town.

Conclusion
I. Imagine that on the end of the October night, a person with a “pumpkin head”,

witches, vampire, mummy and all type of ‘ghost’ appear in front of you, don’t

be shocked or fainted.

A. It just a Halloween Day.

II. Hope you will enjoy it. Thank you.

Bibliography

http://www.holidays.net/halloween/index.htm

http://costumes.costumes-costumes.com/halloween-costumes.html

http://hicards.com/halloween/halhistory.shtml#top

http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/index.htm

http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/music.htm

http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm

http://www.susarn.com/susarneng/eng_memorial_day/eng_halloween.html

www.halloweennet.com/

www.holidays.net/halloween/