2. Why do we celebrate?
Nobody knows the true origins, but it is thought that it
is a tradition from a very long time ago. Here are
two ideas...
3. Samhain
Samhain is an Irish/Scottish Pagan
(old European tribe) festival. They
call it the 'Day of the Dead'.
They honoured the lives of the dead,
and reflected on changes in their
own lives.
There is still a strong Pagan presence
in parts of northern Europe and the
UK.
4. All Hallows' Day
Like much of Pagan culture, the Christians adopted
the celebration.
All Hallows' Day is the 1st November, and they
prepared the day before on the 31stOctober, which is
called All Hallows' Eve.
'Hallowed' means 'Holy'. Today we shorten it to
'Halloween'.
5. In England...
These days, children and adults normally don't give a
thought to the dead. Not many people know why
they celebrate Halloween.
Normally children dress up in costumes and knock on
neighbours' doors and say 'Trick or Treat'.
Usually the adult will give the children sweets or a
small amount of money.
6.
7. Pumpkins & Turnips
In England it was traditional to carve turnips. As
Halloween became more popular in the USA, they
carved pumpkins instead.
Now the English have adopted the USA's customs.