Halloween in the UK

Why do we celebrate?

Nobody knows the true origins, but it is thought that it is a tradition from a very long time ago. Here are two ideas...

SamhainSamhain is an Irish/Scottish Pagan

(old European tribe) festival. They call it the 'Day of the Dead'.

They honoured the lives of the dead, and reflected on changes in their own lives.

There is still a strong Pagan presence in parts of northern Europe and the UK.

All Hallows' Day

Like much of Pagan culture, the Christians adopted the celebration.

All Hallows' Day is the 1st November, and they prepared the day before on the 31stOctober, which is called All Hallows' Eve.

'Hallowed' means 'Holy'. Today we shorten it to 'Halloween'.

In England...

These days, children and adults normally don't give a thought to the dead. Not many people know why they celebrate Halloween.

Normally children dress up in costumes and knock on neighbours' doors and say 'Trick or Treat'.

Usually the adult will give the children sweets or a small amount of money.

Pumpkins & Turnips

In England it was traditional to carve turnips. As Halloween became more popular in the USA, they carved pumpkins instead.

Now the English have adopted the USA's customs.