Halloween: Origin, meaning & Traditions
Where does it come from?
People often think that Halloween is an American holiday. But in fact, it comes from the Celts of Ireland. Today, people don’t do the same as the old Celts: they don’t have a big good meal before winter and don’t leave their houses cold and without light for the night, so spirits don’t want to live there. This day, the souls of dead people can come back if they find a person to stay in his or her body. However, wearing scary masks and costumes – to make the spirits go away – is an old Celtic tradition.
Today, people and especially children enjoy Halloween costume parties. They dress up as witches, vampires and ghosts, but also heroes.
Children in masks go from house to house and when the door opens, they say: Trick or treat! If they don’t get sweets, they do something bad, for example: throw eggs at the house, or toilet paper.
Typical symbols of the holiday are horror characters: spiders, black cats, witches and ghosts, but also big orange autumn vegetables: pumpkins. You can cook excellent pumpkin soup or bake a pie, and make a lantern from the peel.
Great Britain and the USA celebrate Halloween every year on the last October day.
Have a spooky day! Happy halloween guys!