What is HALLOWEEN? - 🎃 - (Halloween 2024) English Addict with Mr Duncan

Hi everybody, this in Misterduncan in England. How are you today? Are you okay? I hope so!

Are you happy? I hope so! In today’s lesson we are going to look at a folklore tradition

that began many hundreds of years ago and is still observed to this very day; albeit

in a very different way. Today we are going to look at the scary tradition of - halloween

Don’t be afraid, there is nothing here that can harm you. All is well. All is fine.

The festival of Halloween has its origins way back during the time when superstition and

pagan beliefs were seen as true. There was the ancient Celtic festival of ‘Samhain’ (sa-win)

that marked the beginning of winter, or as it was known back then – ‘the darker half'.

Pagan festivals were held to mark the phases of the sun.

The ‘Samhain’ (sa-win) celebrations were normally held on the first day of November, but the festivities would

normally begin the day before, on the last day of October; the thirty-first.

It was believed that this particular time of year could bring about the opening of a door to other-worldly spirits.

This belief is thought to be the origins of what we now know as Halloween.

The word Halloween refers to the eve of the hallow saints. It was believed that this was the time when the dead will walk again.

The word ‘hallow’ refers to saints and those that are seen as saintly

or holy. All Saints Day falls on the following day, so it would be fair to say that ‘Halloween’

itself is a religious festival. There are many traditions connected to Halloween.

Many of which derive from the Celtic ‘samhain’ (sa-win) festival. Notable activities included

dressing up in scary costumes. This activity was known as ‘mumming’ and ‘guising’.

Locals would leave food as offerings to the ‘spirits’ that might come over from the

other side. Bonfires would be lit, so as to ward off evil spirits. Locals would go from

door to door, reciting poems in exchange for food. The food exchanged often consisted of

fruit, such as nuts and apples.

To see where ‘Halloween’ became popular, we need to go back to the mid 16th century.

By this time the Christian church had made changes to the days when all saints day was observed.

The following day became known as all souls day. Both days followed the eve of this special time.

The word Halloween is derived from the Celtic ‘all hallows even’.

Its use was first recorded in the mid 14th century. So Halloween would occur on the 31st of October,

‘All Saints Day’ fell on the first day of November and ‘All Souls Day’ followed

on the second day of November. It is interesting to note that what began as a pagan festival

would later be adopted as part of its own by an organised religion.

The modern activities that take place during Halloween include – trick or treating. Children

will go from door to door, dressed in scary costumes asking for sweets or candy. The original

idea was to play a trick or ‘punish’ those that had nothing to give; hence the trick part.

Another activity is ‘apple bobbing’. A barrel full of water would have apples dropped

into it and a blindfolded person would try to bite into one of the ‘bobbing’ apples

and pull it from the water. Although bonfires were often lit during the early days of All

Hallows Eve, they are rarely lit nowadays for Halloween. However, carved out pumpkins

are often displayed outside houses. A glowing candle burning inside the pumpkin gives the

‘jack- o’-lantern’ its familiar eerie glow. Images of things such as bats fluttering

on a moonlit night or a wicked witch flying by on her broomstick are often associated

with Halloween. Over the years Halloween has become very popular, especially in the United States,

where each year large processions will take place and many families will take

their children out around the neighbourhood ‘trick or treating’.

There are many words and phrases connected to Halloween and its origins.

Folklore – A story or tale that is passed down from generation to generation.

Trick or treat – The action of going door to door in scary costume; normally done by children who will ask for sweets.

Jack – o’ – lantern - A hollowed out, carved pumpkin containing a small lit candle.

Ghost – The spirit of a dead person in visible form; often depicted as a floating white glowing figure.

Pagan – A non-organised religious belief. A person who does not follow a mainstream religion.

Many words relating to Halloween also relate to something with a dark or unsettling tone.

Scary Spooky Creepy Fiendish Unnerving Chilling Frightful Terrifying Sinister Evil Wicked Unearthly

Blood curdling – The effect of making a person feel afraid or scared such as, “A blood curdling scream.”

Nightmare – A scary dream that leaves a person terrified; or a situation that is difficult to cope with.

Not everyone agrees with the celebration of Halloween. Some see it as disrespectful or sinful.

Others find the supernatural element of the festival to be wrong and immoral. However, whatever

the opinions of others, it would appear that Halloween will be around for a long time to come.

Do you celebrate Halloween in your country?

I hope you have enjoyed today’s English lesson and I hope that it wasn’t too scary for you.

Take care of yourself, wherever you are in the world. This is Misterduncan in the birthplace of English, that is of course England saying...

see you soon, enjoy English and of course…

ta ta for now.