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IT'S HALLOWEEN!

IT'S HALLOWEEN!

Date: Oct 29 2008

Topic: Vocabulary

Author: nad1a

Lesson

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Halloween is thought to have originated among the ancient Celtic Druids. The Druids believed that on that evening, October 31 - the day preceding the Christian feat of All Saints Day, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth evil spirits.

In modern times, Halloween has become a fun-filled secular holiday which focuses on ghoulish things like skeletons, cemeteries, warlocks, goblins and more. It is celebrated on October 31 in some English speaking countries including the USA and Canada. Some favorite Halloween traditions include children who go trick-or-treating. Young children dress-up in costumes as ghosts, witches, monsters and other imaginative things and go door-to-door saying "Trick or Treat". In other words, either you give me a treat or I play a trick on you. Of course, this is just tradition, and adults all hand out a treat to the children. Treats are usually little pieces of candy or candy bars.

Adults also like having wild parties on Halloween. Many times these parties are costume parties with some people wearing pretty strange costumes! One of the favorite activities at these parties is "bobbing for apples" - a game during which participants try to fetch apples out of a container of water using only their mouths.

In the United States, most homes also have a carved pumpkin, called a Jack-o-lantern, in front of the house. These pumpkins are usually hollow with a funny or frightening face carved into the pumpkin and lighted from inside by candle.

 

 

***

 Now take a look at these words and try the quiz that follows:

 


  • Cackling

    Adjective - An evil, wild, otherworldly laughing sound

  • Carve

    Verb - (regular: carve - carved - carved) to cut with a knive, in the context of a pumpkin to cut a face into the pumpkin.

  • Evil

    Very bad behaviour with cruel intent.

  • Haunted

    Location containing evil spirits or ghosts, usually a house or castle.

  • Ghost

    Noun - the spirit of a dead person which appears again. Ghosts at Halloween are usually dressed in white sheets.

  • Hideous

    Adjective - Something so ugly you cannot look at it.

  • Horrified

    Adjective - very frightened, afraid or scared.

  • Jack-o-lantern

    Noun - A carved pumpkin usually with a candle burning inside to illuminate the pumpkin.

  • Pumpkin

    Noun - A large, orange vegetable in the squash family associated with Halloween.

  • Skeleton

    Noun - The bone structure of a body without the flesh.

  • "Trick or Treat"

    Saying - Used by children when going from house to house asking for candy. The phrase also means that if you don't give me a treat I will play a trick on you!

  • Wicked

    Adjective - the same as evil.

  • Witch

    Noun - A woman with magic powers (usually evil).

 

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

     

  1. The __ made a horrible __ laugh before she flew off on her broom.

  2. Let's go buy a __ and __ a funny face on it.

  3. Don't be afraid of that __ . After all, it's just made of bones and can't hurt you!

  4. Tom won the award for the best carved __ at the school Halloween fair.

  5. If I hear one more child say __ tonight I think I'll go crazy!

  6. Take of that __ mask! I can't stand to look at you, it's so repelling!

  7. Not all monsters are __ . Some are just misunderstood by the local population - think of Frankenstein.

  8. I was __ by that horror film on TV last night. I know it was a Halloween film, but there was just too much blood and violence for me.

  9. I dare you to open the door and go into that __ house up on the hill!

  10. I have to go change my costume. I got all wet __ .





Answers:

1 witch, cackling 2 pumpkin, carve 3 skeleton 4 Jack-o-lantern 5 "Trick or Treat" 6 hideous 7 evil OR wicked 8 horrified 9 haunted 10 bobbing for apples

 

Comments

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osfp88

Hungary

Great article…:x…love Halloween and all those terrifying and scary costumes…make me feel like I am a mortal human being…:)and JACK-O-LANTERNS are so funny…when I look at one of them..I can't stop laughing.:D…great holiday.:D

08:51 AM Oct 29 2009 |

amocan

Germany

good informations thnx :)

08:05 PM Nov 27 2008 |

Ice smile

China

 

i really like  that jack-o-lantern very much, not terrible at all. i feel it a little bit cute.haha

who make one for me? 

06:47 AM Nov 27 2008 |

STEVEN MO

STEVEN MO

China

er…....

i like the candy bar!!Tongue out

01:21 AM Nov 27 2008 |

STEVEN MO

STEVEN MO

China

er…...Embarassed

thanks!!!

wahaha !~~ it crasy!!

 

01:19 AM Nov 27 2008 |

ashif

ashif

India

Thanks dear friend…

04:54 PM Nov 26 2008 |

iamtracy1116@sina.com

China

good

01:44 AM Nov 26 2008 |

miffoo

miffoo

Slovakia

nice lessons

09:11 PM Nov 23 2008 |

amoyanzi

amoyanzi

China

It reminds me of the HALLOWEEN! night passed on campus. I made a Jack-o-lantern by myself. It's very cute. I love the pumpkin pie.

09:12 AM Nov 20 2008 |

midnightclubla

Germany

thank ya ,too

05:16 PM Nov 17 2008 |

midnightclubla

Germany

i love halloween

05:15 PM Nov 17 2008 |

diks

India

Its so super.Bobbing for apple,Halloween day.,Jack o lantern

12:21 PM Nov 17 2008 |

beautiful_girl_mimi

United Arab Emirates

coOOl bobbing for apple

 

11:28 AM Nov 17 2008 |

ugly1234

ugly1234

China

treak or treat

12:00 PM Nov 15 2008 |

ayşe gemi

ayşe gemi

France

iiyyyyyyyy

01:10 PM Nov 12 2008 |

Nikos

Nikos

Greece

wonderful

07:50 PM Nov 08 2008 |

Nikos

Nikos

Greece

Thank you for the great lesson. The best I've seen on Halloween so far.

07:49 PM Nov 08 2008 |

aileyz

aileyz

Germany

thanks for some kind of this information =)

be glad to read that.. ^^ 

07:58 AM Nov 08 2008 |

Andy66

Andy66

Germany

Halloween is getting a bigger acceptation every year also in germany. So it was fun to read it and it was also very informativ. :-) Thanx!!

 

11:45 AM Nov 04 2008 |

nad1a

nad1a

Greece

Thanks stitch, thanks pavlionka :-)

01:29 PM Nov 01 2008 |

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