HALLO

WHAT?
WEEN WHEN?
Halloween is a holiday celebrated all around the world. Halloween is celebrated annually
on the 31st of October, just the
People wear costumes, they celebrate parties, and they
evening before All Saints Day.
decorate their houses and carve pumpkins.

It is a very special holiday for the children because Halloween is the short name of All
they wear spooky costumes, they go “trick or treating” Hallows’ Eve.
house by house and people at their houses give candies
and sweets to them.

HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

Halloween is a Celtic celebration called Samhain /sah-wen/. Samhain marked the end of summer
and the end of summer harvest.

Ancient Celtics were very superstitious and they believed that on October the 31 st, the spirits
of the dead came back to towns and villages. To keep these spirits away, they dressed up in
scary costumes made from animal skins. They also made noise in streets and fired up huge
bonfires.

JACK O’ LANTERNS MORE FACTS

According to an old tale, a drunken farmer  The traditional colours
named Stingy Jack was not allowed to enter of Halloween are black
both heaven and hell after his death. His soul and orange. Orange
wandered in the darkness. He carved out a comes from the autumn
lantern out of a turnip to light his way and harvest and black
guide his soul. represents death.

The Celtics believed in this story of Jack  Cats, spiders and bats
Stingy, so they began to place Jack o’ are Halloween icons
Lanterns outside their houses. The purpose because they were
was to guide lost souls home while they believed to be witches
wandered during the Samhain festival eve. servants in the past.
VOCABULARY FROM THE TEXT

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TRUE OR FALSE?

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the 31 st of October. ________

Children go “Trick or Treat” to get toys from the people at their homes. ________

Ancient Romans had a celebration similar to Halloween. ________

Ancient Celtics dressed up in scary costumes to protect their harvest. ________

Nowadays, Jack o’ Lanterns are the carved pumpkins used at Halloween. ________

White is a traditional colour of Halloween because it represents the ghosts. ________

People used to believe that spiders, cats and bats were related to witches. ________

CORRECT THE FALSE SENTENCES

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SAMHAIN OR HALLOWEEN?

People dress up in scary costumes such as ghosts, vamps, witches… __________

People made noise in the streets to keep the spirits away. __________

The festival marked the end of summer harvest. __________

Children go Trick or Treating on Halloween evening to get some candies. __________

People carve pumpkins as a Halloween scary decoration. __________

QUESTIONS

Why is Halloween a special holiday for children?

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What is the long name for Halloween?

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What did Ancient Celtics believe about the spirits of the dead?

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Who was Stingy Jack?

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Why did his soul wander in the darkness?

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HALLOWEEN WORDSEARCH