When spirits walk among the living...Halloween 2011

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Once more, Halloween is coming along. It is a festivity that is especially associated with the U.S., altough its origins are to be found quite far from there. Anyhow, Halloween is gradually imposing again on the continent where it was born. Many of us know something about it through films or TV shows. Many others have heard about it, but don't really know much about Halloween traditions, or what people do to get ready for the night when the limit between the world of the living and that of the dead disappears. So let's have a look at what we can find available online. Endless websites...

The first one I recommend you to have a look at if you want to know more about Halloween is http://www.history.com/ (The History Channel). Find all sort of information, in the shape of videos, interactive games and much more. The following video about the origins has been extracted from it:

So now we know...

...that Halloween has Celtic origins. The Celtic festival SAMHAIN [pronounced /saun/] celebrated the end of the year, which finished in October.

...that the Celts believed that ghosts, witches and evil spirits entered the world of the living on the night of the 31st October.

...that people wore costumes to scare the evil spirits away.

...that orange and black are the colours of Halloween.

...that the word "Halloween" comes from "All Hallows' Eve", which is the day before All Saints' Day?

...that in some English-speaking countries people wear scary costumes and masks and go to parties?

If we could reduce Halloween to numbers, this would be it:

Jack-O'-Lanterns are made out of pumpkins. People put Jack-O'-Lanterns in front of their windows or in their gardens, to frighten evil spirits. Did you know that this tradition originated in Great Britain and Ireland and that, originally, people used turnips?

Now let's learn a few facts about PUMPKINS:

Would you like to know how a Jack-O'-Lanternt is made?

One of the most typical Halloween traditions, together with Jack-O'-Lanterns is the decoration of houses with Halloween lights. But man, some people can go just over the top to make an impression!!



Read the news on "the most popular Halloween video of 2011" in the Los Angeles Times

What about haunted houses? Watch this video about the Bonanza Hotel (no subtitles)

And last but not least, the most popular Halloween tradition of all: TRICK-OR-TREATING!

TO ALL, HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!