The History of Halloween

 

The History of Halloween

I Lead-in. 

A)  Look at the photos. Match the words to the images.

bonfire; dressing up   (as evil spirits and ghosts); trick-or-treating; soul cakes

Jack-o'-Lantern; bobbing for apples; candy

B)  Watch the video and check your answers (e.g. A- bonfire)

C)   Put the pictures in the order they are mentioned in the video (e.g. 1-A).

II Vocabulary focus. Match the words to their definitions. Use three words in your sentences.

1.	originate	A.	baked food made from the mixture of flour, fat and water or milk
2.	ancestor	B.	skin from fruit or vegetable
3.	evil	C.	belonging to a religion that worships many gods and is not part of one of the main world religions
4.	spirit	D.	to come from a particular time or place
5.	disguise	E.	to put on special clothes to change your appearance
6.	bonfire	F.	having a lot of money
7.	harvest	G.	to destroy something completely
8.	well-off	H.	the form of dead person similar to  ghost
9.	pagan	I.	to change appearance and look like something or someone else
10.	worshiper	J.	a person whose job is to guard buildings
11.	wipe out	K.	plants that are gathered by farmers and used for food
12.	dress up	L.	bad and cruel
13.	avoid	M.	to not allow someone to do something
14.	pastry	N.	a large outdoor fire
15.	prank	O.	the ability to say what will happen in the future
16.	watchman	P.	someone who performs religious ceremonies to a particular god
17.	deny	Q.	a person related to you who lived long time ago
18.	creepy	R.	to stay away from something
19.	staple	S.	a funny trick
20.	divination	T.	making you feel slightly frightened
21.	peel	U.	the most important

 

 

III Vocabulary focus. Follow the link below. Focus on the words and expressions (study definitions), match the terms to their definitions, solve the crossword puzzle, complete the quiz, chase down the correct answer to earn points, unscramble words and phrases (correct order of letters), type in wordsto fill in the blanks, test your knowledge of  vocabulary.

  

IV Watch the video again and choose the correct answers the questions. 

1.    It is thought that Halloween originated in Celtic ____ around 2,000 years ago with the festival known as Samhain.

A.   Scotland 

B.   Iceland

C.   Ireland

2.    The festival itself celebrated the divide of the two halves of the year: _____, light and dark.

A.   autumn and winter

B.   summer and winter

C.   winter and spring

 

3.    Families would invite ancestors into their homes to share in their celebrations; in order to avoid harm from evil spirits they would wear _____ to disguise themselves.

A.   costumes and masks

B.   suits and ties

C.   crowns and funny hats

 

4.    The Druids built large sacred ___ in order to honour the dead and to protect the living.

A.   fireworks

B.   mounds

C.   bonfires

 

5.    The Christians believe that Samhain was a ___.

A.   pagan holiday

B.   unpopular holiday

C.   family friendly holiday

 

6.    The Christians transformed Samhain into ____ or more commonly known as All Hallows’ Day.

A.   All Religions’ Day

B.   All Saints’ Day

C.   All Holy Celebrations’ Day

 

7.    The ____ before traditionally known as Samhain became All Hallows’ Eve and eventually Halloween.

A.   morning

B.   week

C.   night

 

 V Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are some words you don’t need to use.

 

pray; costumes; present; originated; trick-or-treat; tell jokes; candy; pranks; soul cakes; children; ghost; the young; playing; the poor; evil spirits

 So where have some of these modern day traditions 1) ____ from? We know that dressing up during Halloween originated from the Celts who dressed up as 2) ____ to avoid harm from other evil spirits during Samhain. Although trick-or-treating today mainly consists of 3) ____running around on sugar and collecting as much 4) ____as humanly possible that wasn't always the case. In medieval Britain during the All Souls’ Day festival 5) ____and those in need would beg for food and would often be given salted pastries made from sacred flour and water. These were named 6) ‘____. In return they would 7) ____for relatives who had passed away.

The young would also dress up in 8) ____and they would go door to door collecting food and sometimes even money. In exchange they would sing, recite poetry, and 9) ____. These traditions were eventually revived in 19th century America by the Irish and Scottish migrants in the form we know today as 10) ____. In its early days the focus was very much on the trick with 11) ____ and vandalism being commonplace. The town leaders eventually managed to limit the vandalism during Halloween when they decided to make the holiday centre  around 12) ____.

 

VI Comprehension check. Mark the sentences as True (T) or False (F). Correct the false statements.

 

1.  Dressing up during Halloween originated from the Celts who dressed up as  ghosts and evil spirits to bring good luck to their families during Samhain.

2.  In medieval Britain during the All Souls’ Day festival the poor begged and it was the beginning of trick-or-treating.

3.  In medieval Britain during the All Souls’ Day festival the poor were given sweet made from chocolate, honey and water.

4.  The poor got ‘soul cakes’ and they prayed for relatives who had passed away.

5.  In the past the young dressed up in costumes and they would sing, recite poetry going door to door collecting food and sometimes even money.

6.  The traditions of dressing up and going door to door to collect food were revived in 19th century America by the British diplomats in the form of trick-or-treat.

7.  In its early days the focus of trick-or-treat was on the pranks and vandalism.

 

VII Watch the video and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

So why exactly do we carve pumpkins? We've come to know them as Jack-o'-Lanterns but their origins date back to the 17th century where their name meant ‘man of a lantern’ and would often refer to the Night waiter/watchman/wise man of a town. The tale of Stingy Jack is believed to be where the tradition began. When Jack died he was denied entry into heaven and having previously angered the divide/divine/devil he was also not allowed into hell. Instead the devil sent Jack into eternal darkness with only a turning/turnip/toad filled with coal to light his way. The Irish and Scottish people began carving happy/sleepy/creepy faces into turnips and placing them by their windows in order to scare Stingy Jack and other evil prayers/spirits/springs away. When they continued the tradition in America, they found an abundance of pompoms/punishment/pumpkins and decided that these would make a great substitute for turnips. Whether you believe that Jack-o'-Lanterns keep away evil spirits or not, they have become a staple decoration/decorated/decorate and symbol of Halloween.

Even a game as trivial as bobbing for staples/strapless/apples once had more of a significance. In Ireland and Scotland apple bobbing was used to tell one's fortune/fortunate/fortune teller as part of the divination game. You would throw an apple peel on the floor, and the shape of the reel/pile/peel would determine the initial of a future lover. There's no argument to the fact that Halloween has changed over the years. It appears have lost its reigning/religious/religion origins and the superstitions surrounding it play little or no part in today's version of the holiday.     

 

VIII Watch the video from the previous task and answer the questions.

1.    What is the mane of the carved pumpkins used for Halloween decoration?

2.    When does the tradition of carving pumpkins originate?  

3.    How is the tale of Stingy Jack connected with the carved Halloween decorations?  

4.    What did people in Ireland and Scotland use as Halloween decorations in the past? How did this tradition change?  

5.    What is the meaning behind the game of bobbing for apples?  

6.    Is Halloween still a religious holiday?  

 

IX OVER TO YOU.

A)  Which Halloween traditions described in the video surprised you the most? Which beliefs and traditions are similar to the traditions in your country (even if you don’t have a holiday like Halloween)?    

B)    What elements of Halloween celebration can you find in your country (if you have Halloween parties)? What Halloween traditions and games do English learners have as a part of their Halloween lesson?