What is Halloween and Why we celebrated?
Today we are learning about how and why people celebrate Halloween in the United States.
Halloween has a very long and interesting history which likely began with an ancient Celtic celebration that took place at the end of the Harvest and the beginning of winter.
And if I understand this correctly, people believed that during this time, spirits or ghosts could travel very easily between the world of the dead and the world of the living.
So people would light big fires and wear scary costumes to keep the ghosts away. Later on, this day would also become a Christian holiday called All Hallows Eve. However most people who celebrate Halloween in the United States don't know very much about the holiday's history and don't think of it as a religious holiday.We just think of it as a fun day on which we wear costumes and get free candy.
So that's what we are going to talk about in this short video-the main things that we do on Halloween in the United States.The main thing that children do on Halloween is go trick or treating. Basically,they put on costumes and they walk door to door collecting free candy.
In Scotland and Ireland a very long time ago, people would walk door to door doing small performances in exchange for food, and it seems that this might be how trick-or-treating began. At each house, the children knock on the door, and when someone opens the door the children say "Trick or Treat". Originally, this probably meant "Give us something nice or we will do something bad to you." But nowadays, we don't really think about what this means or why we say it.
We just know that this is the thing that we say on Halloween when we want want candy. When we hear the word Halloween, we usually think about ghosts, witches, and monsters.
However, not everyone dresses up as something scary.You'll definitely see ghosts, witches,and monsters, but you'll also see princesses,cowboys,astronauts,and cartoon characters. Because Halloween is not a public holiday, if October 31 is on a weekday, children go to school as normal.
However, they will probably have some special Halloween activities at their school. Families who celebrate Halloween will also usually buy pumpkins, carve faces into them, put candles inside of them, and decorate their porches with them. And these are called jack-o-lanterns.
And Halloween is not just for children. In fact, this holiday is actually very popular are with adults. And adults like to do things like watch scary movies and go to costume parties.
Costume parties are just regular parties, but the guests all wear costumes. And if you go to a Halloween party, you'll probably also see Halloween themed food and drinks. For example there might be punch that looks like a witch's potion, cocktails with eyeballs in them, or cookies that look like human fingers. And because pumpkins, apples, corn, and many other things are harvested around this time, another thing that many people like to do is visit farms and orchards.
Orchards are basically just farms where they grow trees to produce fruit. So many people go to orchards to pick fresh apples or pumpkin patches to pick pumpkins.
Spooky Entrance
Graveyard Pathway:Line your walkway with fake tombstones and skeleton hands coming out of the ground.
Hanging Bats: Hang paper or plastic bats from the trees and porch.
Haunted House Interior
Cobwebs and Spiders:Decorate corners and furniture with artificial cobwebs and plastic
Spiders.Ghosts:Create floating ghosts using white fabric and balloons or foam heads.
Pumpkin Decorations
Carved Pumpkins: Traditional jack-o'-lanterns with eerie faces.
Painted Pumpkins: Use black, white, and orange paint to create stylish designs or spooky characters.
Window Decorations
Silhouettes: Cut out silhouettes of witches, ghosts, and monsters and stick them on your windows.
Bloody Handprints: Use red washable paint to create creepy handprints on the windows.
Lighting
String Lights:Use orange, purple, and green string lights to create a spooky glow.
Candle Lanterns: Place faux candles in lanterns or jars for a haunted look.
Table Settings
Themed Tablecloths:Use black or blood-red tablecloths with spiderweb patterns.
Creepy Centerpieces:Create centerpieces with skulls, black roses, and faux cobwebs.
Outdoor Decor
Scarecrows and Figures:Set up scarecrows dressed in old clothes or life-sized figures of witches and zombies.
Fog Machine:Add an eerie atmosphere with a fog machine at the entrance or in the garden.
Ceiling Decor
Hanging Ghosts:Suspend small ghosts made from white fabric or cheesecloth from the ceiling.
Paper Chains: Create paper chains in Halloween colors (black, orange, purple) to drape across the ceiling.
Wall Decorations
Vintage Posters:Hang vintage Halloween posters or signs with spooky messages.
Spooky Art:Frame black and white photos of haunted houses or eerie landscapes.
DIY Crafts
Mason Jar Lanterns: Paint mason jars with Halloween motifs and place tea lights inside.
Paper Mache Skulls: Create and paint paper mache skulls for a creepy touch.
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