Teach your students about the origins of halloween with the help of a text lesson and an inclass activity. Halloween is an old tradition in ireland and scotland. Halloween has many easy easily identifiable symbols. Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated each year on october 31. Hundreds of years ago, people dressed up as saints and went door to door, which is the origin of halloween. Halloween parties for children feature fortunetelling, mock haunted houses, scary stories, and games, such as bobbing for. When people moved from ireland and scotland to the united states, they started using pumpkins. If you are having a party for halloween, you will certainly want to decorate at least one room in your house for it.
The origins of halloween university at albany, suny. Halloween general english magazine british council. According to the celtic calendar, october 31 was the final day of the year. Introduction halloween or all hallows eve, as it is sometimes referred to, is a lot different now than it may have been celebrated many centuries ago. Traditionally, it was known as all hallows eve, when the dead were remembered. The celtic people of premedieval europe lived in an area encompassing ireland, the united kingdom, and northern france. The celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now ireland. With october 31st coming around the corner, i thought it would be interesting to find out what the origins of halloween. The origin of halloween can be traced to this ancient pagan festival celebrated by celtic people over 2,000 years ago, states the world book encyclopedia. As darkness falls and families light their pumpkin jacko. The word halloween or halloween dates to about 1745 and is of christian origin. If you think of halloween, you probably think of scary carved pumpkins, all kinds of fancy dress and children asking for sweets. The history of halloween the legends of the frightful night have ancient irish roots.
Peter tokofsky, an assistant professor in the department of folklore and mythology in ucla states, the earliest trace of halloween is the celtic festival, samhain. Trickortreating resembles the late medieval practice of souling, when poor folk would go door to door on hallowmas november 1, receiving. Samhain was the celtic new year and they celebrated it on 1. D ressing up in costumes and trickortreating are popular halloween activities, but few probably associate these lighthearted fall traditions with their origins in samhain, a threeday ancient. It is the most favorite festival for kids as they are able to get huge amount of candies. Americans and canadians have adopted halloween in a big way, but halloween traditions.
The history of halloween learnenglish teens british. This is a quasi oral history, with plenty of photos, and commentary from names like garrison keillor, native of anoka, minn. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world although many people known know about it. Halloween originated in part as a celebration con nected with evil spirits and the dead.
Learn more about the origin and history of halloween. Samhain the celts celebrated a harvest festival called samhain sowin each fall. Learn about the jackolantern, trickortreating, halloween. It comes from a scottish term for all hallows eve the evening before all hallows day. Todays mix of parties, pranks, and profit is a far cry from halloween s ancient origins. Design a costume that your would like to wear for halloween. In those countries, people dressed up and carried lanterns made of turnips. In the united states and canada, children dress in costumes and go trickortreating. History of halloween halloween is a popular holiday that takes place on october 31. The origins of halloween the practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back hundreds of years to the middle ages 5th15th century. In the 7th century, pope boniface iv introduced all saints day all hallow s day. Celebrated on october 31, halloween is a secular holiday combining vestiges of traditional harvest festival celebrations with customs more peculiar to the occasion, such as costume wearing, trickortreating, pranksterism, and decorative imagery based on. While there are various subcultures that still celebrate halloween as the ancients once did, most people only stick to some of the most current traditions associated with the holiday.
Halloween originated with the ancient celtic festival of samhain and is now a worldwide event. Halloweens origins date back to the ancient celtic festival of samhain pronounced sowin. Whatever the history and origins of halloween, halloween is celebrated in many different ways by all sorts of people around the world. Even if you are not having a halloween party, it is fun to make some halloween decorations to place around your house for the season. Halloween had its origins in the festival of samhain among the celts of ancient britain and ireland. Halloween was one such pagan holiday hijacked by the catholic church. It was first observed on may for catholics to remember their dead saints.
Her mom had painted her skin green and outlined her eyes in purple paint. In this worksheet students read a text about the history of halloween and answer truefalse questions after the text. Over the centuries the celebration has seen a lot of changes, and weve summed them up here for you. Halloween facts for kids halloween information for kids.
Before the text theres a list of vocabulary that might be new to the students. Listening comprehension exercise for esl students and young learners about the history of halloween. The origins of halloween keywords halloween, samhain, celt, celtic, pagan, pagan festival, druid, halloween history, history of halloween, october 31, october 31st, irish folklore, irish folk tale, jack o lantern, pumpkin, trick or treat, halloween costume, christians and halloween, halloween biblical, halloween in the bible, what does the. Like many other holidays, halloween has evolved and changed. On the day corresponding to november 1 on contemporary calendars, the new year was believed to begin. The history behind it and its costumes originated with the ancient celtic festival of samhain before the holiday found its way to.
Earliest trace peter tokofsky, an assistant professor in the department of folklore and mythology in ucla states, the earliest trace of halloween is the celtic festival, samhain, which was the celtic new year. She wore tall, black boots underneath a long, purple dress. The origins of halloween reading comprehension freeology. We celebrate halloween every year in such true spirits that it has become the second biggest festival after christmas. Watch a short video about the history of halloween and then complete a multiple choice quiz. Witches worshipped the creation more than the creator. With october 31st coming around the corner, i thought it would be interesting to find out what the origins of halloween were. Understanding the history of halloween can perhaps help you decide what to let your children take part in, and what to keep your children away from.
Trick or treat covers the history of halloween from its ancient celtic roots to its stunning growth in global popularity in the 21st century. Halloween dates back to the celtic farming festival samhain. This is a brief video discussing the origins of halloween, including the celtic holiday of samhain and the roman celebration of pomona. The celts believed that the dead could walk among the living at this time.
While the exact origin of our halloween celebrations remains disputed by scholars, most point back to the ancient celtic festival samhain pronounced sahwen as the precursor. The celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now ireland, the united kingdom and northern france, celebrated their new year on. This was the day and evening before all saints day, a holy day that was celebrated on november 1st. Halloween, or the ancient samhain, is considered the time of year when the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its thinnest. What do you think halloween will be like in another two thousand years. A free printable worksheet to accompany this quiz is also available. As i start to plan my hotdog costume for halloween on saturday, i begin to consider what the history of the festival is and how on earth hotdogs are related to it. Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated each year on october 31, and halloween 2019 occurs on thursday, october 31. The history of halloween goes all the way back to a pagan festival called samhain the word halloween comes fromall hallows eve and means hallowed evening. From communion with the dead to pumpkins and pranks, halloween is a patchwork holiday, stitched together with. Americans, scots and irish people celebrate halloween.
Hallowtide the holiday, probably from roots meaning summers end. The tradition of halloween has been passed on to us for generations and in order to keep its true spirits alive we also need to teach our kids about halloween. The origins of halloween date back more than 2,000 years to the celtic festival of samhain pronounced. The roots of our scary holiday go back thousands of years, nearly to the time of christ. Some christians are not so happy that people celebrate halloween. Join ben and matt to learn the stuff they dont want you to know about everything from ancient history to ufos, government secrets, and the future of civilization. The witch is one of the more enduring symbols of halloween, horror and folklore. One page of reading and eight comprehension questions. The celts are a group of people who lived in an area that today is ireland, the united kingdom, and northern france. Morton is an accomplished horror short story writer, and her ability to draw readers in quickly and keep them turning. The origin and meaning of halloween is derived from an ancient pagan tradition of the celtic harvest festival called samhain pronounded sowin. Also, knowing the origin of halloween and its history can also help christians view the adult, youth, and child activities associated with halloween celebrations in the light of christs truth. Since then, our evening with ghouls and trickortreat has exploded into a national holiday.
Over the centuries, halloween transitioned from a pagan ritual to a day of parties, costumes, jackolanterns and trickortreating for. Witches flying on broomsticks with black cats, ghosts, goblins, and skel. It originated with the ancient celtic festival of samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. New people have brought new traditions, and changed the old ones. The history of halloween reveals that the earliest years of the holiday are dramatically different from how the holiday is currently celebrated by most people. Halloween evolved from the ancient celtic holiday of samhain. And if you think of a country that celebrates halloween, you probably think of the united states first. History of halloween differentiated reading comprehension.
In scots, the word eve is even, and this is contracted to een or een. As a result of this, it is impossible to actually know exactly how it originated and the steps it went through to get to the modern traditions of parties, trickortreating, and the costumefilled celebrations we enjoy today. Discuss the role of immigration in american halloween history. Souling originated in ireland and britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as italy. The word halloween comes from the name of a holiday from the 800s ad, called all hallows eve. Origins of halloween reading comprehension where did halloween in america begin. That date was considered the beginning of the winter period, the date on which the herds were returned from pasture. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back hundreds of years to the middle ages 5th 15th century. Halloween falls on october 31st each year in north america and other parts of the world. The origins of halloween are over 2,000 years old dating back to an ancient celtic festival called samhain. The nip in the air, the fragrance of woodsmoke on the breeze, the hordes of little ghosties and ghoulies stomping around the neighborhood it all comes together to lift my spirits and make me optimistic about the seasons to come.
The origins of halloween celtic origins halloween origin. They belief believe the holiday is unchristian because of its origin original as a pagan festival of the dead. A simplified reading comprehension based on the origins of halloween with accompanying questions. However, both the ancient origins of halloween and its modern customs show it to be a celebration based on false beliefs about the dead and invisible spirits, or demons. If you would like, take your halloween history instruction even further with. The tradition of halloween on 31 october comes from the ancient celtic festival of samhain.