4 & 5 YEAR OLDS AND PRIMARY 1 & 2

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is an event that most children studying English are familiar with as it is often presented in their course books. However, do they know WHY we celebrate Halloween? When is Halloween? (answer: October 31st) What do people do on Halloween? (answers: wear costumes, trick or treat etc.).

History of Halloween

There are many different ideas as to how Halloween celebrations started. A number of people believe that this tradition began thousands of years ago with the Celts. The Celtic people celebrated New Year’s Day on November 1st and, to protect themselves against the winter, they organised activities to scare off evil spirits the night of October 31st.

This is one version; however, some people believe that Halloween has a shorter history.

Why do people wear costumes for Halloween?

Wearing costumes for Halloween began hundreds of years ago. Many people believed that ghosts roamed the streets the night before All Saint’s Day so they wore masks and costumes to keep evil spirits away. In the past, aside from wearing masks, people used to also place bowls of food on their doorsteps to make sure ghosts and spirits didn’t enter in their houses.