Halloween is an annual celebration, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it jus t a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?
The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.
Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.
The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.
3. Look forward, up and down to find the words.
B | P | W | N | F | A | U | T | K | A | H | Z |
S | B | R | F | R | F | A | O | F | L | C | C |
U | C | A | I | A | H | X | B | A | L | T | S |
F | R | A | T | N | K | Q | O | I | I | I | K |
L | V | C | R | K | C | N | R | R | R | W | E |
O | A | C | M | E | E | E | I | Y | O | Q | L |
W | M | Z | O | N | C | G | S | G | G | J | E |
E | P | M | N | S | A | R | O | S | H | S | T |
R | I | U | S | T | L | P | O | B | F | T | O |
E | R | M | T | E | I | W | Z | W | L | T | N |
W | E | M | E | I | Q | X | F | C | V | I | J |
B | O | Y | R | N | P | U | M | P | K | I | N |
4. Describe these monsters:
Example: A vampire is a monster that drinks blood and hates garlic.
... is a monster that...
A ghost _______________________________________________
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A skeleton _____________________________________________
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Frankenstein ___________________________________________
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A troll _________________________________________________
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A werewolf _____________________________________________
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A mummy _____________________________________________
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A Cyclops _____________________________________________
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A medusa _____________________________________________
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5. Guess the words and write them down.
Halloween Unscramble
1. sgoth ____________________________
2. chitw ____________________________
3. ealwneohl ____________________________
4. acdyn ____________________________
5. ignblo ____________________________
6. tuscoem ____________________________
7. otrcboe _____________________________
8. thdneau hsoeu __________________ __________________
9. tbsa _____________________________
10. kpmuipn _____________________________
6. Guess the word that rhymes with every last word in the line
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A witch’s pet that rhymes with rat: _______ A scary thing that rhymes with toast: _______ A bony monster that rhymes with sun: _______ A monster that rhymes with wire: _______ | ![]() | |
What a witch rides that rhymes with room: _______
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A monster with stitches that rhymes with mine: _______ A person who steals treasure that rhymes with sit: _______ Who makes a web and rhymes with wider: _______ | ||
7. Brainstorm in your group to think of and list all the supernatural and unnatural creatures and people. Classify them in as many different ways as you can. Can you think of some unusual ways to classify them?
Example - colour, and size
What are nightmares?
Brainstorm all the reasons that you think cause people to have nightmares. Classify nightmares into categories or types.
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Question: What do you think is the most common type of nightmare people have?
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Activity: Make a list of nightmares that people might have and ask the students in your group and in the class what nightmare they think is the most common. (list the options on a sheet of lined paper and attach to this sheet.)
8. Pick a story starter below and write a story.
- It was a dark and stormy night when....
- My friends and I were trick or treating and knocked on the door....
- Meow! The black cat was scared....
- The silliest Halloween ever started when....
- The white sheets with black eyes peering through holes of the costume gave no clue as to who the kid was...
- Running down the street with candy flying, I saw....
- I was counting all my candy when all of a sudden...
- A yellow glow was coming from the jack-o-lantern, only...
- Whirling winds on this cold October evening send chills down my spine...
- They claim the house was haunted, but it looked okay to me, so....
- My friends and I like to go trick-or-treating because...
- I had the most fun on the Halloween when I....
- My mom and dad like to.......
- A Halloween party is fun to plan...first you...
- You won't believe this story, but it is true...
Add some story starters of your own.
- __________________________________________
- __________________________________________
- __________________________________________
9. Do the crossword puzzle
Across 1. the spirit of someone who has died, esp. one that is believed to have returned to earth to haunt a place or living people. 6. in folklore and fairy tales, an ugly creature that does evil or mischief to humans. 7. a covering for all or part of the face, usu. worn to disguise the wearer's identity. 9. any of various usu. night-flying mammals that have wings that are covered with membranes, and that sense objects mostly by means of reflected sound waves rather than by vision. 10. a legendary being, often said to be a revived corpse, that preys on people in order to suck out their blood. 12. to form or inscribe by cutting. 13. a corpse preserved by embalming, esp. one embalmed and wrapped by or in the manner of the ancient Egyptians. 14. a mixture for drinking, esp. one that is supposed to have medicinal, magical, or poisonous effects. 15. a woman who practices or is believed to practice occult magic; sorceress. | Down 2. a word, phrase, or the like used to bewitch or enchant; charm; incantation. 3. an imaginary or mythical creature, often with features of two different animals or of animals and humans. 4. a set of clothes suited to a particular season, occasion, or activity. 5. a spell or supernatural force that, according to voodoo belief and legend, can enter a corpse, return life to it, and then control its actions. 8. causing fear; frightening. 11. a large, roundish, gourdlike orange fruit that has thick edible flesh and is borne on a low-growing vine. 16. inhabited or visited by ghosts. |
proper food
cooking class
Words / Слова к теме
- pageantry — 1. пышное зрелище, великолепие, блеск 2. шик 3. помпа
- pageant — 1. пышное зрелище 2. пышная процессия 3. карнавальное шествие 4. маскарад
- celebrate — 1. праздновать 2. прославлять
- eve — 1. канун 2. (уст.) вечер
- joyous — 1. довольный 2. радостный, счастливый
- awakening — пробуждение
- spiritual — 1. духовный 2. одухотворенный, возвышенный 3. святой, божественный 4. религиозный, церковный 5. (амер.) спиричуэл, негритянский религиозный гимн
- resurrection of Jesus — воскрешение Иисуса
- annual — ежегодный
- to hold (held, held) celebration — проводить празднование, праздновать
- failure — провал, неудача
- conspirator — заговорщик
- deliverance — 1. освобождение, избавление 2. официальное заявление 3. (юр.) вердикт
- firework — фейерверк
- bonfire — костер
- Commonwealth — содружество
- commemorate — 1. отмечать 2. праздновать 3. чтить память 4. служить напоминанием
- wreath — венок, гирлянда
- remembrance — 1. воспоминание2. память 3. сувенир, подарок на память
- ancient roots — древние корни
- harvest — урожай
- holy — святой
- trick-or-treating — фраза, которую говорят американские дети на Хэллоуин, обходя окрестные дома с требованием конфет — «Откупись, а то заколдую!», или «Конфеты или жизнь!»
- carve — высекать, вырезать
- jack-o'-lantern — 1. блуждающий огонек 2. фонарь из тыквы
- ghost — привидение
- haunted attractions — аттракционы с привидениями
- haunt — часто посещать, преследовать (о привидениях)
- prank — 1. выходка, проказа, проделка, шалость 2. шутка
- scary — 1. (разг.) жуткий 2. пугливый
- stronghold — оплот
- observances — 1. (of) соблюдение 2. обряд, ритуал 3. (уст.) почтение
- splendour — 1. блеск 2. великолепие, пышность 3. величие, слава
- draw (drew, drawn) thousands of spectators — привлекать тысячи зрителей