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Halloween
In October many shop windows in Britain turn orange and black, with pumpkins, witches,
broomsticks and cats. What do young people do to celebrate Halloween? Read this article to find out.
Flying witches, pumpkin lanterns, trick or treat ... What do you know about Halloween? Here are
some Halloween facts to get started.
• Halloween is celebrated on 31 October. This isn’t a public holiday in Britain.
• Halloween is the night before the Catholic festival of All Saints and the pagan Celtic festival of
Samhain (1 November).
• Halloween is also sometimes called All Hallows’ Eve or All Hallowtide and can also be written
Hallowe’en.
• Halloween colours are orange and black. Orange is related to harvests because the end of
October is the end of the harvest. Black is related to death.
In the UK Halloween traditions are very much alive and popular, especially amongst kids and
teenagers. We looked at some of the most common.
Pumpkin lanterns
These are pumpkins with the inside removed and eyes, mouth and a nose 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. Do people actually eat their pumpkins? Yes, they do! Pumpkin soup and pumpkin curry
are very popular meals at this time of year.
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!
Apple bobbing may be related to the ancient Roman festival of remembering the dead, which was
also in October. The Romans remembered the goddess of trees and fruit, called Pomona. When they
came to the UK, about 2,000 years ago, they continued with this tradition.
Dressing up
People of all ages dress up on Halloween. The most popular fancy dress costumes include witches,
vampires, ghosts, skeletons, zombies and monsters. You can buy a costume from a shop or you can
make your own one at home. It’s easy to make a ghost costume from an old white sheet or wear
black clothes to look like a witch. You can even paint ‘blood’ dripping from your mouth using bright
red tomato ketchup to look like a vampire! What would you choose? Rachel, 14, from Liverpool says,
‘If you go trick or treating it’s best to dress up as a witch. You don’t need a bag for the sweets – you
can just use your witch’s hat!’
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 or money 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 if they don’t want to join in. Young
children usually go trick or treating with parents or an older brother or sister.
Halloween parties
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. If you don’t have a big Halloween party in
your area, some people have parties at home or at youth clubs where they dress up and play scary
games or tell ghost stories.
Watch a horror film

Not in the mood for a Halloween party? Older teenagers that aren’t helping their younger sisters and
brothers to trick or treat sometimes watch a scary film with friends either at home or at the cinema.
Any film with the words ‘Halloween’, ‘Vampire’, ‘Dead’ or ‘Zombie’ in the title is probably going to
be quite scary.
In the UK films are divided into categories depending on whether they are for children, teens or adults.
‘U’ films are suitable for all ages, ‘15’ films are for people aged 15 or over and ‘18’ films are for adults
only. Many cinemas in the UK show old black-and-white, classic horror films such as Psycho on the
night of 31 October. Interestingly, you needed to be over 18 to see Psycho at the cinema in 1960.
Now, though, the film has a ‘15’ rating.
Happy Halloween!
Check your understanding: true or false
Circle True or False for these sentences.
1. People celebrate Halloween on 31 October in Britain. True | False

2. Halloween is not a public holiday in the UK. True | False
3. Halloween lanterns are usually made from potatoes. True | False
4. Apple bobbing is a game which involves apples, water and a bowl. True | False
5. Only children dress up at Halloween. True | False
6. Trick or treating is an American custom that is now popular in Britain. True | False
7. Fright Night is a big Halloween party in the north of England. True | False
8. The film Psycho is suitable for all ages. True | False
What is the combination of your answers to the true or false?

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Halloween

Watch a horror film

Check your understanding: true or false

Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. People celebrate Halloween on 31 October in Britain. True | False

What is the combination of your answers to the true or false?

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