Boo! Halloween is coming!
Have you ever seen people dressed in different costumes going from one door to another? Probably, you wondered what that was. The answer is simple: you were lucky to discover one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States - Halloween!
Have you ever seen people dressed in different costumes going from one door to another? Probably, you wondered what that was. The answer is simple: you were lucky to discover one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States - Halloween!
What is Halloween?
In fact, the Celebration of Halloween comes from another famous old festival of Celtic people that was called Samhain. The celebration used to happen on November 1st as it was the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It symbolized Life (Harvest Time, the end of summer, the beginning of a new period) and Death (Upcoming Winter, "no life"). It was believed that ghosts would come back to earth on that day so ancient people tried to protect themselves from them by liting fire and wearing leather-made clothes. In AD 609, the Catholic Church decided to have All Saints Day on November 1st, and later they put All Souls Day right the next day. As a result, All Hallows Eve - Halloween - was moved to October 31st.
When do people celebrate Halloween?
People celebrate it on the night of October 31st but some people start decorating their houses a few weeks earlier to get into the mood of celebration.
What are the attributes of the holiday?
There are some important items that anyone should have to celebrate Halloween to the fullest.
First, Pumpkins.
The Celts used different vegetables like potatoes, squash, and turpins to make some faces on them. It's meant to scare them and make them leave everyone unharmed. When Irish people came to the US, they started using pumpkins to make those faces.
Costumes
The ancient people were scared of spirits so they made those masks and dressed of animals. They hoped if they met a spirit, it would consider them as a ghost too and let them go. The tradition was adopted and people started to wear different kinds of costumes, not only scary ones.
Trick or treat
The tradition started in England where rich people should have given the poor some cakes with spices and raisings for All Souls Day. The Americans still have this tradition. Usually, children go from one door to another and ask for sweets, and they say "Trick or treat!". In fact, going trick or treating is so popular that a quarter of the sweets for the year in the United States are sold for this one day.
Where is it celebrated?
Nowadays, it is possible to see the celebration almost everywhere. The USA is a place where Halloween is celebrated the most. In fact, Halloween has become the United States’ second-biggest commercial festival after Christmas. Another example can be Mexico where they have their Day of the Dead that happens from October 31st to November 2st. Although, it is a new holiday in most countries and mostly it is popular among the young.
Are you celebrating Halloween? Leave your answer below and share with us your favorite dress!
The text was adopted from https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/es/general-english/magazine-zone/halloween