Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 175 views

    Halloweentraditions

    Uploaded by

    api-335591173
    Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around November 1st to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred on Samhain, allowing spirits to roam the Earth. They left food and clothing to appease the spirits. When the Roman Catholic Church established All Hallows' Eve on October 31st, many Celtic traditions became associated with Halloween. Immigrants from Europe brought Halloween customs to North America in the 1700s-1800s. Today, Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, involving costumes, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin carving.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Halloweentraditions

    Uploaded by

    api-335591173
    175 views2 pages
    Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around November 1st to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred on Samhain, allowing spirits to roam the Earth. They left food and clothing to appease the spirits. When the Roman Catholic Church established All Hallows' Eve on October 31st, many Celtic traditions became associated with Halloween. Immigrants from Europe brought Halloween customs to North America in the 1700s-1800s. Today, Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, involving costumes, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin carving.

    Original Title

    halloweentraditions

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around November 1st to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred on Samhain, allowing spirits to roam the Earth. They left food and clothing to appease the spirits. When the Roman Catholic Church established All Hallows' Eve on October 31st, many Celtic traditions became associated with Halloween. Immigrants from Europe brought Halloween customs to North America in the 1700s-1800s. Today, Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, involving costumes, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin carving.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    175 views2 pages

    Halloweentraditions

    Uploaded by

    api-335591173
    Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated around November 1st to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred on Samhain, allowing spirits to roam the Earth. They left food and clothing to appease the spirits. When the Roman Catholic Church established All Hallows' Eve on October 31st, many Celtic traditions became associated with Halloween. Immigrants from Europe brought Halloween customs to North America in the 1700s-1800s. Today, Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, involving costumes, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin carving.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 2

    '-4

    \1

    ressing up in
    costumes.
    Trick-ortreating.
    ',
    Carving
    pumpkins. These
    traditions are part of
    Halloween, a holiday
    known for fun and
    games. But did you
    know that Halloween
    has roots in a much
    more seriousand
    spookyoccasion?
    Natalie Smith

    Words to Know
    traditions (truh-dish-uhns)
    noun, plural, customs, ideas,
    or behefs handed down from
    one generation to the next
    supernatural (soo-pur-nahchur-uhl) adjective, relating
    to something outside of
    nature or beyond the visible
    world, such as a spirit

    How did Halloween get started?


    The origin of Halloween dates back at least 2,000
    years to a festival called Samhain (pronounced
    sow-in). People known as the Celts (kelts) celebrated
    it to mark the end of the harvest season. They lived
    where Ireland, Scotland, and Wales are today
    Samhain began on November 1, but the celebrations
    began the night before, on October 31. Families
    gathered for big feastsand scary stories.
    "It was a time to tell supernatural stories about
    creatures in the dark," says Halloween expert Lesley
    Bannatyne.

    The Celts appeared


    to believe that the
    spirits of the dead
    roamed the Earth
    during Samhain.
    According to some
    legends, the Celts left
    food out for the spirits.
    But other tales say the
    Celts roamed the
    streets dressed as the
    dead, making loud
    noises to scare the
    spirits away.

    4 SCHOLASTIC NEWS EDITION 4 OCTOBF.H 3 1 , 2011


    www.scholastic.com/sna

    LandS Of t h e CeltS
    Area where
    the Celts
    lived

    Why is it called
    Halloween?
    Over the centuries, Samhain
    changed as Christianity
    expanded across the Celts'
    lands. The Roman Catholic
    church established the
    holidays All Hallows' Day
    {hallowed means holy) and
    All Souls' Day. These holidays
    were observed during the
    Celts' Samhain celebrations.
    All Hallows' Day took place on
    November 1. October 31
    became known as All Hallows'
    Eve. That's where the name
    "Halloween" came from.
    Jte.

    When did Americans start


    celebrating Halloween?
    Many of the European immigrants
    who came to the United States in the
    1700s brought their Halloween
    customs with them. The holiday really
    took off when a surge of Irish
    immigrants came to the U.S. in the
    mid-1800s.
    "Whole towns would dress up and
    J;.
    have parades and big parties,"
    says Bannatyne.
    I
    Today Halloween is one of
    the most popular holidays in
    ,
    the U.S. About 70 percent
    of Americans
    L

    ^ celebrate it.
    Each year, they
    spend billions
    L of dollars on
    costumes, candy,
    and decorations.

    fe

    Why do people trick-or-treat?


    Trick-or-treating has been linked to
    several ancient traditions. One took
    place on All Hallows' Day in England.
    Poor people would dress in costumes
    and knock on the doors of the rich.
    They would ask for food and money.
    "Trick-or-treating is just about the
    only [trace] we have of that mass
    begging that happened" centuries
    ago in Europe, says Bannatyne.

    Ni:ws i;unioN 4 OCIOBUK .U, 2011 5

    You might also like