Hallowe’en
Hey, hey, for Hallowe’en!
Then the witches shall be seen,
Some in black, and some in green,
Hey, hey, for Hallowe’en!
1. Hallowe’en takes place on the 31st of October and means “holy evening”, that is the eve of All Hallows' Day, better known as All Saints' Day, celebrated on the 1st of November.
2. The holiday coincides with two much older festivals: Samhain that was celebrated by the Druids in honour of the Celtic New Year and the Roman Festival of Pomona.
3. Samhain heralded the arrival of hordes of witches, ghosts and demons who were supposed to come out of their hiding places with the beginning of winter.
4. Pomona was the goddess of fruit-trees and apples that are gathered at the end of summer.
5. So, both holidays marked the end of summer sunshine and the beginning of winter darkness.
6. Over the centuries they were grafted one upon the other to become modern Hallowe’en, the festival of horrible supernatural creatures who make people tremble with fear.
7. Many years ago most people believed in such creatures and thought that they could damage their property.
8. They tried to ward them off by painting magic signs on their barns or by nailing a piece of iron, for example, a horseshoe over the door.
9. Today, as a rule, people do not believe in evil spirits, and Hallowe’en is just a nice holiday with colourful and noisy parties.
10. Everyone has fun on this day.
11. Children dress up as devils, ghosts, witches and monsters and in the evening go out into streets to beg.
12. They walk from house to house in the neighbourhood and knock on doors with the phrase “Trick or treat”; trick-or-treating means “Give me a treat or I’ll play a trick on you”.
13. People usually give them candy, cookies and apples.
14. However, if they do not, children spill flour on the doorstep or begin to make a lot of noise or do some other “damage”.
15. Different games are played on Hallowe’en such as apple bobbing – when you try to catch an apple with your teeth from a tub or a basin of water without using your hands.
16. Young girls are fond of “love magic”.
17. They stand in front of the mirror and brush their hair three times at the stroke of midnight.
18. A face is then supposed to materialize in the mirror – that of the boy whom fate has decreed the girl will one day marry.
19. At Hallowe’en, both children and adults enjoy listening to spine-chilling tales about witches and goblins.
20. Another popular Hallowe’en tradition is making jack-o’-lanterns.
21. People scrape out a pumpkin and cut the outlines of eyes, nose and mouth in its side.
22. Then they put a lit candle inside the pumpkin.
23. The custom refers to a man named Jack who is said to be still wandering round the earth lighting his way with such a lantern.
24. Instead of pumpkins, potatoes and other vegetables can be used.
25. Houses are also decorated with pictures of black cats, bats and skeletons.
26. The traditional Hallowe’en colours are black and orange.
27. Nowadays, Hallowe’en is celebrated in many countries of the world.
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