What is Halloween??•Halloween is celebrated on October the 31st every year.

•It originated from a pagan holiday and the Christian holiday of All Saints’ Day.

• The holiday originally comes from people called the Celts. The Celts lived in Europe more than 2000 years ago. •The name Halloween is a shortened version of All Hallows’ Eve.

•People from Ireland took Halloween to America in the mid-1600s.

•Halloween is an old tradition in Ireland and Scotland. In those countries, people dressed up and carried lanterns.

•When people moved from Ireland and Scotland to the United States, they started using pumpkins. This is where the jack-o’-lantern comes from.

Halloween today…• Today, many countries still remember the dead on November 1st. It

is called All Saints Day. Another name for it is All Hallow’s Day. The day before, October 31st, is called All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween for short.

• Today, it is more of a fun day for children and has largely lost its religious roots.

• Halloween is probably most famous in the U.S.A. • The colors orange and black are widely used at Halloween. • In particular, orange pumpkins and fires and black witches, cats

and costumes are common features of this day. • One of the biggest Halloween activities is trick-or-treating. This is

when children knock on doors and ask for a small gift. If they don’t get anything, they’ll play a trick on the person who opens the door.

• Food also plays a big part of Halloween. Toffee apples are very popular and so is anything made from pumpkin.

• Many horror movies have been made about it. Because of this, Halloween is now known in many countries that never actually celebrate it.

Pumpkin lanterns

• These are pumpkins (an orange, football-sized vegetable) with the inside removed and a nose, eyes and mouth cut into one side. A candle is placed inside the empty pumpkin and the light creates a scary face effect.

•In the past people used potatoes or turnips to make lanterns but nowadays pumpkins are more popular. They are easier to cut and you can buy them in supermarkets. People use pumpkin lanterns to decorate their homes at Halloween. People also eat pumpkin.

Apple bobbing• To play this game, lots of apples are

placed in a large tub or bowl of water. The competitors have to take a bite from one of the apples without using their hands. To make this more difficult, the competitors have their eyes covered with a scarf. You are not allowed to use the sides of the bowl to help you bite the apple. This game often involves getting very wet so it's a good idea to bring a towel!

Fancy Dress / Dressing up

• People of all ages dress up on Halloween. The most popular fancy dress costumes include witches, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, zombies or monsters. You can buy a costume from a shop or many people make their own costumes at home.

Trick or Treating!• Children dress up and then visit the

houses in their neighbourhood asking for a ‘trick or treat’. The neighbour gives them sweets as a ‘treat’. If there is no treat, the children play a trick on the neighbour, for example they might throw soap at the window. Some people think that playing tricks is unkind but luckily there is nearly always a treat! This custom is imported from the USA and is more popular with young people than with adults. The police in some parts of Britain give out 'No trick or treat, please!' posters for people to display on their door on the night of Halloween. Young children usually go trick or treating with parents or with an older brother or sister.

Halloween Parties• Parties to celebrate Halloween are

very common. If you are in Sheffield, in the north of England, at the end of October you can go to Fright Night. What is Fright Night? People in Sheffield say it’s 'Britain's Biggest Halloween Party' and it attracts about 40,000 people each year. There are activities for kids, teenagers and adults including a fancy dress catwalk, urban dance, a monster in the fountain and a zombie garden, as well as the traditional apple bobbing and a competition for the best pumpkin lantern.

Horror Films!• Any film with the words

'Halloween', 'Vampire', 'Dead' or 'Zombie' in the title is probably going to be quite scary. Many cinemas in the UK show old black-and-white, classic horror films such as 'Psycho' on the night of October 31st. Interestingly, you needed to be over 18 to see 'Psycho' at the cinema in 1960. Now the film has a ‘15’ rating.

A –deathB –spider webC -owl

A- vampire B-witch’s hat C-monster

A- graveyardB-gargoyleC- ogre

A-vampireB-broomC-coffin

A-bonesB-cauldronC-hunchback

A-demonB-frankensteinC-wicked tree

A-half moonB-werewolfC candles

A- mummyB- zombieC-trick or treat bag

A-crowB-frogC-candle

A-jack o’ lanternB-headless horseman C-haunted castle

A-headless horsemanB -jack o’ lanternC-werewolf

A-carvingB-witchC-skull

A-zombieB-mummy C-crow

A-zombieB-witchC-skull

A-jack o’ lanternB- zombie C-skeleton

A-death B-spiderC-owl

A-owl B-spiderC-dragon

A-owl B- ogreC-dragon

A- bat B- dragonC-owl

A-batB-webC-black cat

A-batB- gargoyleC-black cat

A-zombieB- ripC-trick or treat bag

A-graveyardB-haunted houseC-gargoyle

A-graveyardB- graveC-gargoyle

A- ogreB- demonC-owl

A- candyB- costumeC-monster

A- witchB- costumeC-monster

A- monsterB- scarecrowC- vampire

A- ghostB- skullC-owl

A- candyB- trick or treaterC-monster

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6 12 18 24 30

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21 15 9

8 14 26 20

25 19 1 3

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TEST YOUR ENGLISH HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HALLOWEEN?

Halloween is celebrated on the 31st of which month?• February.• October.• November.• December.

Which of these is a traditional Halloween costume?a) A Batman costume.b) A superman costume.c) A witch costume.d) A cat costume.

a) All Hallows Eve.b) All Witches Eve.c) Hallows Night.d) Trick Night.

a) Apple.b) Melon.c) Pumpkin.d) Orange.

Halloween is celebrated on the Eve of the…a)Day of the Dead.b)Day of the Living.c)Day of Witches.d)Day of Vampires.

Which of these monsters drink blood?• Ghosts.• Mummies.• Witches.• Vampires.

In the past … were turned into Jack O’Lanterns.a) turnipsb) onionsc) pumpkins. d) potatoes.

To go around, witches use a …a) broom.b) stick.c) plane.d) carpet.

Which animals are usually associated with witches?a) Yellow dogs.b) Red pandas.c) Black cats. d) White rats.

What do children say when they go door to door asking for sweets?

a) Trick or treat.b) Treat or trick.c) Trick or trick.d) Treat or treat.

a) Ireland.b) England.c) America.d) Canada.

Where did Halloween come from?

Which fruit is carved into a Jack O’Lantern?Halloween is also called…

Halloween celebrations were started by the …a)Celts.b)Vikings.c)Romans.

True or False?

1. Apple bobbing is a game with water and a bowl.

2. Witches use airplanes to fly.

3. Halloween is a public holiday in the UK.

4. Vampires sleep in bed.

5. Witches cook with cauldrons.

6. Mummies are usually wrapped in bandages.

7. Spiders use their sensors to fly at night.

8. Trick or treating is an American custom that is popular in the UK.