How much do you know about halloween?

Hello students!

Today I´ll talk about a very famous
celebration:HALLOWEEN.  CLM, as a language school, will be part of that celebration bringing a sort of Halloween decoration and activities. We invite you to read this post,watch the videos and search for more information about that and then enjoy this moment in the classrooms with your teachers and colleagues.

A bit of its origin:

Halloween is one of the most celebrated festivals around the world. But, do you actually know what Halloween really means, or where the idea came from? With so many movies and TV shows focused on the supernatural side of Halloween, it's a wonder how little people know of the origins of the festival.

The Celts were a pagan people who lived in ancient Ireland and Scotland, and were keen on the celebration of nature in their festivals. They had four main yearly celebrations: Imbolc, for the spring; Beltrane, for the summer; Lughnasadh, for the autumn; and, Samhain, for the winter. This last one, the Samhain (read 'sah-win'), is where all things Halloween came to life.

The Samhain is a harvest festival, and it represents the end of the reaping for the year. It also stands as a preparation for the darker months ahead, when winter sets in, and it's celebrated from the sunset on October 31 to the evening of November 1. Samhain is the evening before the Christian holiday of All Hallows' Day, which makes it the 'All Hallows' Eve'. It was in Scotland that Samhain changed its name to Halloween. Many people still believe Halloween to be a pagan festival, but the truth is that in 6AD Pope Boniface IV de-paganized the holiday by unifying it with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, thus creating the Christian festival of Hallowmas.

The Scottish and Irish Celts believed that the spirits of their loved ones roamed the Earth on that night, but, unfortunately, those weren't the only spirits paying a visit that night. Fairies were also free to cross into our world, and they demanded some sacrifices to be appeased. Irish mythology speaks of human and cattle sacrifice, but the offering of food and drinks — sometimes entire portions of crops — was much more common. The offerings were left outside their homes, so that the fairies could grant their protection to the household or village in the harsh winter to come.

Also called mumming or guising, it's the habit of dressing up as the 'souls of the dead' during Halloween. Over Halloween, people would wear masks, costumes or just simply put ash from a bonfire on their faces to knock door-to-door and offer prayers for the departed - in exchange for soul cakes. In Ireland, some dressed as a hobby horse  with a white sheet over them and a decorative skull at hand. In Scotland, the mummers went as far as threatening mischief on the house that didn't welcome them with food offerings. Trick-or-treating only became a thing in America in the 1920s, but versions of the custom date back to the 16th century.

For the people doing the guising and the mumming, it was important to carry a light source with them, for some believed it would help keep evil spirits at bay. Then, turnip and mongrels wurzels began to be carved and hollowed out and used as lanterns. They usually had scary or funny faces carved on them, as to help ward off any bad spirits. It was only in America that the turnip gave way to the now traditional pumpkin jack o'lantern, and in 1866 it was used for the first time as a Halloween decoration.

Regardless of its origins, Halloween has become a pretty profitable holiday since it spread to North America with the Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 1800s. With costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards, the Halloween industry amasses over seven billion dollars a year; a huge difference from the relatively quiet and community-oriented festival of Samhain(Halloween).

Adapted from http://moviepilot.com/p/halloween-real-history-origin-tradition/4120022