EVOLVE Educational Vocational Objective Learning of Vernacular English

Hallowe'en

The Origins of Hallowe’en

Task 1
Find the answers to the clues highlighted in the text and fill the puzzle

Across

4. Respect

6.Made unclear

7. A time to collect crops on a farm

Down

1. Frontier

2. Predictions

3. Remember

5. Effect

8. Connected

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Task 2

The prepositions ‘at/on/in’ have been removed from this text, fill in the gaps

Ancient Origins

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago ...... the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year ...... November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that ...... the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. ...... the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. ...... addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the spirits made it easier for the Druids (Celtic priests), to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent ...... the natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, made of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their fires, which they had put out earlier that evening, from the bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

The Roman Invasion

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. ...... the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day ...... late October when the Romans commemorated the dead. The second was a day to honour Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today ...... Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had come into Celtic lands. ...... the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV called November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honour saints. It is believed today that the pope was trying to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but Christian holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, ...... A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honour the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up ...... costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Modern Traditions

The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades …… England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" …… return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.
The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses …… their neighbourhood and be given ale, food, and money.
The tradition of dressing …… costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Task 3
Answer the questions

1 Where did the Celts come from?

2 When did the Celts celebrate their new year?

3 What is a Druid?

4 What did they build to commemorate Samhain?

5 How long did the Romans rule the Celtic lands?

6 What is the symbol of Pomona?

7 What did Pope Boniface IV call November the 1st?

8 When did the church make November the 2nd All Souls’ Day?

9 Where does ‘trick-or-treating’ come from?

10 Why did people wear masks?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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