Halloween

Unlike many other festivals, the history of Halloween is also inspired through traditions that have transpired through ages from one generation to another. The name Halloween is Scottish in origin and is short for "All Hallow's Eve," the night before "All Hallow's Day," or All Saint's Day.

The basic traditions associated with Halloween are as follows :

JACK'O LANTERN : These are hollowed out pumpkins with a face cut into one side. People once carved out beets, potatoes and turnips to use as lanterns on Halloween. Nowadays we carve out pumpkins. According to an Irish legend, jack-o-lanterns were named for a man named Jack, who could not enter heaven because he was a miser. He could not enter hell either, because he had played jokes on the devil. So instead, he had to walk the earth with a lantern until Judgment Day. This was later brought into existence as one of the most popular halloween tradition.

Fire : Fire is an integral part of the halloween tradition. Fire was very important to the Celts as it was to all early people. In the old days people lit bonfires, to scare away evil spirits. They believed that light had power over darkness. In some places they used to jump over the fire to bring good luck. Today, we light candles in pumpkin lanterns and then put them outside our homes to frighten away witches and ghosts.

Dressing up :The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. To keep ghosts away from their houses on Halloween, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter. Halloween costumes is by far the most important and the most interesting customs of halloween.

Trick or Treat :Halloween was a time for making mischief - many parts of England still recognise Halloween as Mischief Night - when children would knock on doors demanding a treat (Trick or Treat) and people would disguise themselves as witches, ghosts, kelpies and spunkies, in order to obtain food and money from nervous householders. Till date on the halloween day children disguise themselves and go knocking from door to dorr shouting "Trick or Treat". The people usually entertain children by handing out candies to them.

Halloween Quiz ( British Council ;Learn English Kids )