Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, celebrated on October 31st. The Celts believed that on this night, the boundary between the living world and the spirit world became blurred and the spirits of the dead were able to mingle with the living. Traditional Halloween activities like carving pumpkins, dressing in costumes, and trick-or-treating evolved from Celtic traditions meant to honor the dead or appease spirits who were thought to be active on Samhain. Today, Halloween is celebrated in many countries with fall-themed activities, costumes, scary movies and more.

1. Halloween, October 31st
All Hallows’ Evening
(night before All Hallows’ Day,
when the dead visit the living)

2. SAMHAIN NIGHT
~ The origin of Halloween ~
•From ancient Ireland
•Celtic festival for the
end of the harvest season
•The Celtic new year

3. The ancient Irish believed that
on Samhain the boundary between
the dead and the living dissolved,
and the dead became dangerous,
causing sickness or damaged crops.
Traditional ways of
warding off evil spirits:
←Bonfires
Carrying a
carved turnip with
a candle in it→

4. Holidays for the Dead in Other Countries
• Day of the Dead (Día de
los muertos)--Mexico--
November 2nd
• Todos los santos--Spain--
October 31st
Why do the holidays
around this time of year
have to do with death/the
return of the dead?

5. Where is Halloween celebrated?
Canada United States Ireland Scotland Sweden England Netherlands New Zealand Australia
Recent tradition: Germany Spain Japan South America

6. Halloween in the USA
•Began with the flood of Irish immigrants in the 1850’s
•Less of a spiritual/religious holiday in the USA; more
for fun and mischief.
•Emphasis on the dead remains

7. Tradition: Carving Pumpkins
A carved pumpkin is called
a “jack-o-lantern.”
Where does
this tradition
come from?

8. Tradition: Dressing Up
Traditional Halloween disguises are figures of death: Witch, ghost,
devil, bat, cat, zombie, mummy, vampire, skeleton…

9. Tradition: Trick-Or-Treating
•Children dress up and go door to door soliciting candy on the night of
Halloween. Younger children start going trick-or-treating in the early
evening, before dark; older children trick-or-treat later, until ten or
eleven p.m.
•When the door opens, the children say, “trick-or-treat!”

10. Tradition: Mischief
Adolescents pull
pranks at night:
Smashing pumpkins,
“tp-ing” (throwing
rolls of toilet paper
up into trees), etc.

11. Tradition: Corn Mazes
•Farmers plow their corn fields into mazes and
labyrinths.
•Actors, dressed up as monsters, hide in the corn
and try to scare the people in the maze.

12. Tradition: Haunted Houses
•Old houses that
have been made to
look spooky and
have scary/strange
things inside
(ghosts, eerie noises,
etc)

13. Tradition: Scary Movies

14. What are you going to be for Halloween?
Do you have your costume already?
Do you like to watch scary movies?
Have you ever carved a pumpkin?