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Halloween is the 2nd

most commercially

successful holiday,

with Christmas being

the first.

HALLOWEEN AVANZADO 1

1. Read this text about the History of Halloween.

Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic

and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the

holiday we know today.

Straddling1 the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity2

and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition.

Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return

to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes

to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain 3, the

Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all

influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious

connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children's holiday.Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years,

as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes

and sweet treats to usher4 in the winter season.

2. Watch the video and answer the following questions.

- What does Samhain mean?

- Why did the Celts light great bonfires?

- What do Samhain and All Saints Day have in Common?

- What was the cause of the massive Irish emigration to America in the 19 th Century?

- What was the origin of Trick or Teating?

1straddle [transitive]

-to sit or stand with your legs on either side of someone or something:

The photo shows him dressed in leather, straddling a motorbike.

- to include different areas of activity, groups, time etc:

Her research straddles mathematics and social sciences.2paucity [singular] formal

less than is needed of something [= lack]3

Samhain [saUn]4usher in something[phrasal verb]

- to cause something new to start, or to be at the start of something new:

The discovery of oil ushered in an era of employment and prosperity.

Did You Know?

One quarter of all the

candy sold annually in

the U.S. is purchasedfor Halloween.

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GLOSSARY (video)

patchworkholiday: a type of sewing in which many coloured squares of cloth are stitched

together to make one large piece.

prank: a trick, especially one which is played on someone to make them look silly.

A childish prank

pagan: pagan religious beliefs and customs do not belong to any of the main religions of theworld, and may come from a time before these religions.

Ancient pagan temples

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-VRAemIvbI

KEY

- What does Samhain mean?

It was the end of the harvest season. That night also marked the Celtic New Year.

- Why did the Celts light great bonfires?

To drive the dead back to the spirit world and keep them away from the living.

- What do Samhain and All Saints Day have in Common?

Both these holidays have to do with the afterlife, survival after death.

- What was the cause of the massive Irish emigration to America in the 19 th Century?

Potato famine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)

- What was the origin of Trick or Teating?

Originally, it was an extortion deal.