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?  

 

 

Famous Food Paintings

I Lead-in.

1)    Take two minutes to write down your associations with the words ‘food’ and ‘painting’. Work in pairs and compare your lists. What are the similarities and differences in your lists?  

2)     What types of food do you often see when you visit a museum? Do you know any famous paintings of food?

 

II Picture description. Look at the paintings (A-J) below. Every painting shows food. Use the words in the list to describe what food you can see in each painting. You can add your own food words to the list.

beef; lamb; chicken; bacon; salmon; tuna; prawn; oyster; lobster; gooseberry; apple; pear; lemon; orange; peach; cherry; pineapple; strawberry; grapes; raspberry; pomegranate; plum; melon; currant; potato; mushroom; carrot; onion; cabbage; courgette; aubergine; pea; beans; sweet corn; cucumber; tomato; asparagus; butter; egg; fig  

III Ranking. If you created a list of the most important food painting, in what order (10 to 1) would you rank the paintings in task II.  Explain your choice. For example: Number 10 in my list is   painting A because…

IV Artists and artworks. Look at the names of artists and the titles of paintings below. Based on your descriptions of paintings in task II match the title to the paining (for example A- Artist ‘Painting’).

      i.          Antoine Vollon  ‘Mound of Butter’

    ii.          Vincent van Gogh ‘The Potato Eaters’

  iii.          Francis Bacon ‘Figure with Meat’

  iv.          Floris   van Dijck ‘Still Life with Cheese’

    v.          Andy Warhol ‘Campbell's Soup Cans’

  vi.          Vincent Van Gogh ‘Still Life with Apples’

vii.          Louise Moillon ‘Still Life with Cherries Strawberries and Gooseberries’

viii.          Johannes de Heem   ‘Still Life with Ham, Fruit and Lobster’

   ix.          Giuseppe Arcimboldo  ‘Vertumnus’ 

     x.          Paul Cezanne ‘Apples and Oranges’

 

V Watch the video  and check your answers to task III (ranking important works)  and task IV (artists and titles). Did you guess the names of all artworks? Was your order of the most important paintings the same as the version presented in the video? What choices of art critics surprised you?

 

 VI Watch the video again and answer the questions.

1.    Which painting is a 17th century French still-life artwork?  

2.    Why do some art historians think that ‘Figure with Meat’ is a critique on religious authority?  

3.    What makes Louise Moillon’s ‘Still Life with Cherries Strawberries and Gooseberries’ so special for art historians and critics?  

4.    Which artwork is believed to represent death?  

5.    Which painting shows famous techniques and trademarks that made artist’s special post-impressionist style?  

6.    What painting is large and would look right in a giant dining hall?  

7.    What painting is a portrait?  

8.    What important person does Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s ‘Vertumnus’ depict?  

9.    Which painting is a kitchen and table scene that shows Dutch cuisine of that time?  

10.Which painting in its author’s opinion was the best painting he had ever done?  

11.Which painting shows the life of Dutch peasants?  

12.Which painting can people find in musee d'Orsay?  

13.In what century was Andy Warhol’s work ‘Campbell's Soup Cans’ created?  

14.Which colours can we find in the in the background and in the foreground of Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Still Life with Apples’?  

15.Which painting belongs to pop-art?  

 VII OVER TO YOU. Discuss the questions with other students

a)    Which artwork in the video impressed you the most and why?

b)    Find an example of a painting that inspires you and that shows food. Show the painting to other students and describe the painting and the food you can see. Explain why you chose that artwork to talk about.   

 

FOOD CRIME STORIES

I Lead-in.

1)    Take 1 minute to write down your associations with the word ‘food’. Work in pairs and compare your lists. What are the similarities and differences in your lists? 

2)    Take 1 minute to write down your associations with the word ‘crime’. Work in pairs and compare your lists. What are the similarities and differences in your lists? 

3)     How can food and crime be connected? What types of food can be interesting for criminals?

 

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

1.	fictitious	A.	to buy
2.	to obtain	B.	wet and soft
3.	to purchase	C.	an organized group of criminals
4.	illicitly	D.	not real, fabricated
5.	soggy	E.	illegally
6.	sliced	F.	cut into flat pieces
7.	gang	G.	to get

 

III Read the food crime stories below. Fill in the blanks in the stories with food words from the list. You will use some words several times. There are words you don’t need to use.

 

soy beans; lamb; peas; tomatoes; toppings; bread; cheese; fried eggs; corn; raspberry; cucumbers; mussels; frozen chicken wings; beef; sea bass; lobster; prawns; oysters

 

CRIME STORY 1.

 

Paul Diogenes, 49, created a fictitious (not real, fabricated) catering company, listing his brother as president, in order to obtain (get) credit from food distributors to purchase (buy) more than $831,769 in product, including hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of ______, ______ _____, ______, ______, ______, ______, and ______. Diogenes used stolen banking information from several well-known seafood restaurants and steakhouses to obtain funds to pay for some of these products.

CRIME STORY 2.

A joint US-Canadian investigation found C$200,000 (£125,600) of ______and other dairy products were illicitly brought over the border (illegally transported) into southern Ontario. Three men were arrested for buying brick ______ (most commonly used for pizza ______) in the US, and then taking it to Canada hidden in their cars.  The criminals sold large quantities of ______, which is cheaper in the US, to pizzerias.

 

CRIME STORY 3.

Takashi Ishimoto, a Tokyo resident created a plan involving soggy (wet and soft)  ______.

The plan was carefully carried out:

Step 1: Ishimoto contacted a baker’s and pretended that he had bought sliced ______from them; the ______was  soggy and he was not satisfied.

Step 2: Ishimoto then phoned the shop again and pretended to be a boss from the head office. He asked the shop to give the customer some replacement ______and all the cash they had taken for that day.

Step 3: Ishimoto repeated for all the local stores over five years.

Step 4: Ishimoto got $200,000.

CRIME STORY 4.

At 5:30 a.m. Saturday, two people dressed in dark clothing broke into the KFC restaurant in Chipley, Florida. They stole $5,000 worth of _____     _______      ____.

 CRIME STORY 5.

In 2011, rocketing prices led to a rise in crimes relating to vegetables. In Florida, one gang of criminals stole six tractor loads of _____ worth $300,000, which also included a truck full of ______, ______   ______and ______, and ______. The price rises were caused by a bad harvest in Mexico.

 

IV Answer the questions.

1.    What did Paul Diogenes in story 1 create to get credit? He created a fictitious catering company, listing his brother as president.

2.    How did Diogenes obtain funds to pay for some of the products? He used stolen banking information from several well-known seafood restaurants and steakhouses.

3.    Why did criminals illegally transport dairy products to Canada? Criminals illegally transported dairy products from the US to Canada because dairy products were cheaper in the US.

4.    What companies bought illegally transported dairy products in crime story 2? The criminals sold large quantities dairy products to pizzerias.

5.    How did Takashi Ishimoto get money from baker’s shops? Ishimoto pretended to be a boss from the head office; he asked the shop to give the unhappy customer (and he also pretended to be that unhappy customer) some replacement food and all the money they had that day.

6.    Why were vegetables in crime story 5 expensive and criminals decide to steal them? The price rises were caused by a bad harvest in Mexico.

 

V  Study the definitions of different types of crime. Read crime stories in Task III again and name type of the crime in every story. Some types of crime will be used twice.

fraud - getting money by deceiving people, for example false representation of facts, pretending to be a different person, pretending to offer products or services that do not exist.

smuggling  - illegal transportation of objects, information or people, across an international border.

burglary - illegally entering a building ( a house, flat or shop) and stealing things.

theft - the crime of taking of another person's property or services without that person's permission,  stealing

 

VI Vocabulary focus. Follow the link below. Study the words and  word combinations using flashcards, check your understanding, practise their  spelling. Check your knowledge in the test. Play matching vocabulary game (match words to their translations to make cards disappear)  and save the planet from asteroids by typing in correct words.

 

VII OVER TO YOU. Discuss the questions with other students.

A)  Discuss the crimes described in food crime stories. What crime in your opinion was the cleverest?  What crime was the easiest for the criminals? Why?

B)   Find information about a food crime story from your country. Share it with other students but do not name the type of crime. Let other students guess the type of crime (fraud, theft, etc.).