Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), when people used to light fires and wear costumes to keep ghosts away. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the new year. Celts believed that on this night, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became unclear, and that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. A festival of Roman origin, was combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. It was called Feralia and was held in late October when the Romans traditionally celebrated the passing of the dead.
In 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV declared All Saints Day on November 1. By the 9th century, the influence of Christianity had spread and gradually mixed with Celtic traditions. The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it was called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
As the beliefs and customs of different European groups and the American Indians mixed, an American version of Halloween began. The first celebrations were public events held to celebrate the harvest where neighbors would share stories of the dead. In the second half of the 19th century, many new immigrants helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween. Between 1920 and 1950, trick-or-treating began, which was an inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. From this, a new American tradition was born.
Comprehension
1) When is Halloween celebrated?
2) What was the original purpose of lighting fires and wearing costumes during the Celtic festival of Samhain?
3) What was the purpose of combining the festival of Feralia with the Celtic celebration of Samhain?
Vocabulary
Match the words to the definition:
1) harvest
2) origin
3) passing (pass away)
4) spread
5) gradually
6) customs
a) traditions
b) to extend over a larger area
c) slowly
d) collecting food from farms in Autumn
e) a polite way of saying “to die”
f) the beginning of something
Grammar Highlights
Use past perfect tense to talk about a time before another time in the past:
“By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory” (they conquered before 43 A.D.)
Use the passive voice to keep the focus on the object, not the people doing the action:
“It was called Feralia…”
*This article was adapted from another article to make it more suitable for English learners. You can read the original article here.