HALLOWE'EN 2016

Data de publicació: Oct 28, 2016 3:41:8 PM

Halloween is one of the most celebrated festivals in the world, especially in the US and the UK. Our students learn about it as a part of the English culture but… do they really know its origin? What is the real story behind Halloween?

Halloween has Celtic origin and it was originally named ‘Samhaim’ which meant ‘the end of summer’ in Old Irish language. It is the eve of ‘All Hallows day’ or ‘All Saints day’ in Christianity and it is dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows).

It was known as the beginning of the Celtic New Year. So, it was believed that the spirits were closer to us at this time of year. It was tradition to welcome the spirits with food and drink and crops which marked the end of the Harvest season.

In the 16th century, the tradition of guising began and traditionally they carried a turnip or another type of vegetable, that they had hollowed out (cut out the inside part so that they could put a light inside.)

In the 20th century, wearing costumes at Halloween became popular in England. Moreover, they continued the tradition of these lanterns known as ‘Jack-o-Lanterns’ today. Other traditions that the English still carry on today include the costume parties, what they called ‘Fright Nights’ (haunted houses attractions), lighting bonfires; attending church services, lighting candles on the graves, etc.

This year, our students have practiced with some vocabulary related to this festivity and they have prepared some spooky spiders to decorate our school with these expressions. Let’s have a look!