Halloween, October 31st

All Hallows’ Evening(night before All Hallows’ Day,

when the dead visit the living)

SAMHAIN NIGHT ~ The origin of Halloween ~

•From ancient Ireland

•Celtic festival for the end of the harvest season

•The Celtic new year

The ancient Irish believed that on Samhain the boundary betweenthe dead and the living dissolved, and the dead became dangerous,causing sickness or damaged crops.

Traditional ways ofwarding off evil spirits:

Bonfires

Carrying a carved turnip with a candle in it

Holidays for the Dead in Other Countries

• Day of the Dead (Día de los muertos)--Mexico--November 2nd

• Todos los santos--Spain--October 31st

Why do the holidays around this time of year have to do with death/the return of the dead?

United StatesCanada EnglandIreland Scotland

Germany JapanSpain

AustraliaNew ZealandSweden Netherlands

Recent tradition:

Where is Halloween celebrated?

South America

Halloween in the USA•Began with the flood of Irish immigrants in the 1850’s•Less of a spiritual/religious holiday in the USA; more for fun and mischief.•Emphasis on the dead remains

Tradition: Carving PumpkinsA carved pumpkin is calleda “jack-o-lantern.”

Where does this traditioncome from?

Tradition: Dressing UpTraditional Halloween disguises are figures of death: Witch, ghost, devil, bat, cat, zombie, mummy, vampire, skeleton…

Tradition: Trick-Or-Treating•Children dress up and go door to door soliciting candy on the night of Halloween. Younger children start going trick-or-treating in the early evening, before dark; older children trick-or-treat later, until ten or eleven p.m.•When the door opens, the children say, “trick-or-treat!”

Tradition: Mischief

Adolescents pullpranks at night: Smashing pumpkins, “tp-ing” (throwing rolls of toilet paper up into trees), etc.

Tradition: Corn Mazes•Farmers plow their corn fields into mazes and labyrinths. •Actors, dressed up as monsters, hide in the corn and try to scare the people in the maze.

Tradition: Haunted Houses

•Old houses that have been made to look spooky and have scary/strange things inside (ghosts, eerie noises, etc)

Tradition: Scary Movies

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Do you have your costume already?

Do you like to watch scary movies?

Have you ever carved a pumpkin?