Halloween Vocabulary

 Halloween 2020 is a very old holiday, and it has a surprisingly complicated history. If you have time, check out the Halloween videos on the History GEST 5 Channel’s website for more information. But for now, here’s a quick summary.

Originally, Halloween was a pagan (non-Christian) celebration called “Samhain.” Samhain involved lighting fires to scare off ghosts.

The name “Hallow” is similar to “holy,” and “een” is similar to “evening.” In this case, “evening” is used like “eve,” which is the night before a special day (Like “Christmas Eve,” which is the day before Christmas, and “New Year’s Eve,” the day before New Year’s Day). So in other words, “Halloween” is the night before a holy day: All Saints’ Day, on November 1.

In the past, many people used to wear costumes of scary creatures on Halloween to scare away the evil spirits. That custom evolved (changed over time) into modern traditions, such as dressing up like different creatures.

Modern-day Halloween celebrations are very different. In fact, Halloween is mostly for kids these days. It’s not a serious holiday; it’s just a fun rea

son to wear a costume, have a party, eat candy .