Halloween in England

By Amy Baker

October 2015

What is Halloween?

Halloween is celebrated on

31st October.

It is on the eve of (the day before) All Saints Day. All Saints Day is also called All Hallows. So, Halloween is short for All Hallows´ Eve.

It is scary, but fun.

Halloween comes from a Celtic tradition which celebrates the end of the harvest.

WHAT DO WE DO?We dress up in costumes, for example as ghosts, witches, black cats, pumpkins or skeletons.

We paint our faces.

The children go trick or treating. They knock on their neighbours’ doors, saying, ‘Trick or Treat?’. The neighbours give sweets to the children.

We eat lots of sweets and chocolate.

We play games, often involving food. Some examples are apple bobbing and doughnuts on a string.

Apple bobbing: There

are lots of apples floating

in some water. You

have to pick an apple up

with your teeth.

Doughnuts on a string: You have to eat a doughnut which is hanging on a piece of string. You cannot use your hands to eat it, only your mouth.

We carve pumpkins into ´Halloween Lanterns´ and put a candle inside each one. We sometimes have competitions for the best lantern.

● Traditionally, Halloween lanterns were used to scare away evil spirits .

● We use the insides of the pumpkin to make food, such as pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie.

What can you remember?1. When is Halloween celebrated?

2. What do we wear?

3. What part of the body do we paint?

4. What do we say when we go to our neighbours´ houses?

5.What do we eat?

6. What games do we play?

7.What are Halloween Lanterns made from?

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/play-with-friends/halloween

A Halloween tongue twister

● If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?