Match a. b. c. d. e.

f.

HALLOWEEN the following words or phrases with the correct definition: soul 1. the first letter of a name wandering spirit . hang up to dress up !. burning blac" substance initial #. dead person wal"ing around glowing coal $. the part of a person which some people belie%e is spiritual and continues to e&ist in some form after the person has died. suspend on string '. to put on clothes that are noticeabl( different from our usual ones

)HE O*+,+N- O. )HE .E-)+/AL )he name HALLOWEEN comes from the full name of the festi%al All Hallows E%e 0the night before All Hallows or All -aints1 2a( which is No%ember3 1st4. )his is the da( in the 5hristian 5hurch which remembers all the saints who do not ha%e a special feast da( of their own. As man( other religious holida(s3 howe%er3 it originated in the pre65hristian times. Halloween was belie%ed to be the night when there was the smallest separation between the worlds of the li%ing and the dead and therefore communication between them would be possible. )he souls of the dead would be able to tra%el between the two worlds and witches and e%en the de%il would ha%e the most powerful da(. +n order to confuse these wandering spirits3 children would dress up in each others1 clothes and in 78ac"6o6lanterns9 would be placed b( the doors to frighten the spirits awa(. 5:-)OM-3 )*A2+)+ON- AN2 LE,EN2Man( of the practices carried out b( toda(1s children3 particularl( in the cities3 are not traditional but merel( copied off American customs seen on )/. Trick or treating in its present form is not an English custom but is becoming more popular. +t has its origins in the 5eltic practice of dressing up to confuse the de%il and the wandering spirits. )he car%ed Jack-o-Lanterns which e%er(one associates with Halloween are made out of pump"ins. )he name is said to come from the legendar( +rishman3 condemned to wal" on Earth until the end of time because neither ,od3 nor the de%il would ha%e him3 with onl( a glowing coal in a hollowed6out pump"in to light his wa(. According to the stor( ;ac" in%ited the 2e%il to ha%e a drin" with him. ;ac" didn<t want to pa( for his drin"3 so he con%inced the 2e%il to turn himself into a coin that ;ac" could use to bu( their drin"s. Once the 2e%il did so3 ;ac" decided to "eep the mone( and put it into his poc"et ne&t to a sil%er cross3 which pre%ented the 2e%il from changing bac" into his original form. ;ac" e%entuall( freed the 2e%il3 under the condition that he would not bother ;ac" for one (ear and that3 should ;ac" die3 he would not claim his soul. )he ne&t (ear3 ;ac" again tric"ed the 2e%il into climbing into a tree to pic" a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree3 ;ac" car%ed a sign of the cross into the tree<s bar" so that the 2e%il could not come down until the 2e%il promised ;ac" not to bother him for ten more (ears. -oon after3 ;ac" died. As the legend goes3 ,od would not allow such an unsa%or( figure into hea%en. )he 2e%il3 upset b( the tric" ;ac" had pla(ed on him and "eeping his word not to claim his soul3 would not allow ;ac" into hell. He sent ;ac" off into the dar" night with onl( a burning coal to light his wa(. ;ac" put the coal into a car%ed6out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with e%er since.

The Great Pumpkin Everything You Ever Wanted To Kno !sk%%% !"out Pumpkins #ut Were !$raid To

6 =ump"ins are fruits. A pump"in is a t(pe of s>uash and is a member of the gourd famil( 05ucurbitacae43 which also includes s>uash3 cucumbers3 gher"ins3 and melons. 6 )he largest pump"in pie e%er ba"ed was in ??! and weighed #1@ pounds. 6 =ump"ins ha%e been grown in North America for fi%e thousand (ears. )he( are indigenous to the western hemisphere. 6 +n 1$@#3 after .rench e&plorer ;ac>ues 5artier e&plored the -t. Lawrence region of North America3 he reported finding Agros melons.A )he name was translated into English as Apompions3A which has since e%ol%ed into the modern Apump"in.A 6 =ump"ins are low in calories3 fat3 and sodium and high in fiber. )he( are good sources of /itamin A3 /itamin B3 potassium3 protein3 and iron. 6 )he largest pump"in e%er grown was 13!!C pounds. +t was grown b( 5harles Houghton of New Boston3 New Hampshire. 6 =ump"in seeds should be planted between the last wee" of Ma( and the middle of ;une. )he( ta"e between D? and 1 ? da(s to grow and are pic"ed in October when

the( are bright orange in color. )heir seeds can be sa%ed to grow new pump"ins the ne&t (ear. &istory '$ The Jack-'(Lantern =ump"in car%ing is a popular part of modern America<s Halloween celebration. 5ome October3 pump"ins can be found e%er(where in the countr( from doorsteps to dinner tables. 2espite the widespread car%ing that goes on in this countr( e%er( autumn3 few Americans reall( "now wh( or when the 8ac" o<lantern tradition began.

Or3 for that matter3 whether the pump"in is a fruit or a %egetable. *ead on to find outE =eople ha%e been ma"ing 8ac" o<lanterns at Halloween for centuries. )he practice originated from an +rish m(th about a man nic"named A-ting( ;ac".A According to the stor(3 -ting( ;ac" in%ited the 2e%il to ha%e a drin" with him. )rue to his name3 -ting( ;ac" didn<t want to pa( for his drin"3 so he con%inced the 2e%il to turn himself into a coin that ;ac" could use to bu( their drin"s. Once the 2e%il did so3 ;ac" decided to "eep the mone( and put it into his poc"et ne&t to a sil%er cross3 which pre%ented the 2e%il from changing bac" into his original form. ;ac" e%entuall( freed the 2e%il3 under the condition that he would not bother ;ac" for one (ear and that3 should ;ac" die3 he would not claim his soul. )he ne&t (ear3 ;ac" again tric"ed the 2e%il into climbing into a tree to pic" a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree3 ;ac" car%ed a sign of the cross into the tree<s bar" so that the 2e%il could not come down until the 2e%il promised ;ac" not to bother him for ten more (ears. -oon after3 ;ac" died. As the legend goes3 ,od would not allow such an unsa%or( figure into hea%en. )he 2e%il3 upset b( the tric" ;ac" had pla(ed on him and "eeping his word not to claim his soul3 would not allow ;ac" into hell. He sent ;ac" off into the dar" night with onl( a burning coal to light his wa(. ;ac" put the coal into a car%ed6out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with e%er since. )he +rish began to refer to this ghostl( figure as A;ac" of the Lantern3A and then3 simpl( A;ac" O<Lantern.A +n +reland and -cotland3 people began to ma"e their own %ersions of ;ac"<s lanterns b( car%ing scar( faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten awa( -ting( ;ac" and other wandering e%il spirits. +n England3 large beets are used. +mmigrants from these countries brought the 8ac" o<lantern tradition with them when the( came to the :nited -tates. )he( soon found that pump"ins3 a fruit nati%e to America3 ma"e perfect 8ac" o<lanterns. H+-)O*F AN2 5:-)OM- O. HALLOWEEN

Halloween is an annual celebration3 but 8ust what is it actuall( a celebration ofG And how did this peculiar custom originateG +s it3 as some claim3 a "ind of demon worshipG Or is it 8ust a harmless %estige of some ancient pagan ritualG

)he word itself3 AHalloween3A actuall( has its origins in the 5atholic 5hurch. +t comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows E%e. No%ember 13 AAll Hollows 2a(A 0or AAll -aints 2a(A43 is a 5atholic da( of obser%ance in honor of saints. But3 in the $th centur( B53 in 5eltic +reland3 summer officiall( ended on October !1. )he holida( was called -amhain 0sow6en43 the 5eltic New (ear. One stor( sa(s that3 on that da(3 the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding (ear would come bac" in search of li%ing bodies to possess for the ne&t (ear. +t was belie%ed to be their onl( hope for the afterlife. )he 5elts belie%ed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time3 allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the li%ing. Naturall(3 the still6li%ing did not want to be possessed. -o on the night of October !13 %illagers would e&tinguish the fires in their homes3 to ma"e them cold and undesirable. )he( would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisil( paraded around the neighborhood3 being as destructi%e as possible in order to frighten awa( spirits loo"ing for bodies to possess. =robabl( a better e&planation of wh( the 5elts e&tinguished their fires was not to discourage spirit possession3 but so that all the 5eltic tribes could relight their fires from a common source3 the 2ruidic fire that was "ept burning in the Middle of +reland3 at :sinach. -ome accounts tell of how the 5elts would burn someone at the sta"e who was thought to ha%e alread( been possessed3 as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of 5eltic histor( debun" these stories as m(th. )he *omans adopted the 5eltic practices as their own. But in the first centur( A23 -amhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other *oman traditions that too" place in October3 such as their da( to honor =omona3 the *oman goddess of fruit and trees. )he s(mbol of =omona is the apple3 which might e&plain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween. )he thrust of the practices also changed o%er time to become more ritualiHed. As belief in spirit possession waned3 the practice of dressing up li"e hobgoblins3 ghosts3 and witches too" on a more ceremonial role.

)he custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1@#?<s b( +rish immigrants fleeing their countr(<s potato famine. At that time3 the fa%orite pran"s in New England included tipping o%er outhouses and unhinging fence gates. )he custom of tric"6or6treating is thought to ha%e originated not with the +rish 5elts3 but with a ninth6centur( European custom called souling. On No%ember 3 All -ouls 2a(3 earl( 5hristians would wal" from %illage to %illage begging for Asoul ca"es3A made out of s>uare pieces of bread with currants. )he more soul ca"es the beggars would recei%e3 the more pra(ers the( would promise to sa( on behalf of the dead relati%es of the donors. At the time3 it was belie%ed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death3 and that pra(er3 e%en b( strangers3 could e&pedite a soul<s passage to hea%en. )he ;ac"6o6lantern custom probabl( comes from +rish fol"lore. As the tale is told3 a man named ;ac"3 who was notorious as a drun"ard and tric"ster3 tric"ed -atan into climbing a tree. ;ac" then car%ed an image of a cross in the tree<s trun"3 trapping the de%il up the tree. ;ac" made a deal with the de%il that3 if he would ne%er tempt him again3 he would promise to let him down the tree. According to the fol" tale3 after ;ac" died3 he was denied entrance to Hea%en because of his e%il wa(s3 but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tric"ed the de%il. +nstead3 the de%il ga%e him a single ember to light his wa( through the frigid dar"ness. )he ember was placed inside a hollowed6out turnip to "eep it glowing longer. )he +rish used turnips as their A;ac"<s lanternsA originall(. But when the immigrants came to America3 the( found that pump"ins were far more plentiful than turnips. -o the ;ac"6O6Lantern in America was a hollowed6out pump"in3 lit with an ember. -o3 although some cults ma( ha%e adopted Halloween as their fa%orite Aholida(3A the da( itself did not grow out of e%il practices. +t grew out of the rituals of 5elts celebrating a new (ear3 and out of Medie%al pra(er rituals of Europeans. And toda(3 e%en man( churches ha%e Halloween parties or pump"in car%ing e%ents for the "ids. After all3 the da( itself is onl( as e%il as one cares to ma"e it.