Literature 3: Halloween

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Halloween

1. Take a guess: Halloween is celebrated on which day of the year?

1. 30th of October
2. 31st of October
3. 1st of November
4. 2nd of November

2. Take a guess: True or False "In the past, people believed the dead came back to earth during Halloween."

1. True
2. False

3. Take a guess: Halloween started with a festival held by the Celtic people. Where did they live?

1. Britain
2. France
3. Germany
4. Denmark

4. Take a guess: Halloween is also known as All Hallow's Eve. What does Hallow mean?

1. Evil / Scary
2. Strange / Mysterious
3. Hollow / Empty
4. Saintly / Holy

5. Take a guess: True or False "The carved pumpkins with scary faces were meant to guide lost spirits."

1. True
2. False

Reading

Read the following information thoroughly.

You 'll have to answer questions about these texts afterwards!

Halloween

- Known as All Hallow's Eve
- 31st of October
- People believed the dead came back to earth 
- Started as the Celtic festival of Samhain in Britain
- Celts had various beliefs about nature & the supernatural

Festival of Samhain

- Celtic people believed
             - 1st of November was the start of the winter & new year
             - souls of the dead visited the homes of loved ones
- Lighted bonfires to frighten evil spirits that came along
- Wore scary masks so evil spirits wouldn't recognise them
   = origin of dressing up for Halloween

Influence of the Romans

- 1st century AD (na Christus) the Romans conquered Britain
- Added their festival Feralia to the same day as Samhain
- Feralia commemorated (herdenken) the dead
- Holiday remained non-religious 

Halloween in the USA

- People settling in America in the 17th century: non-religious
   holidays were forbidden
- First Irish immigrants in the 19th century brought Halloween 
- Children pulling pranks, scaring others, trick-or-treating
- Teenagers & adults going to costume parties, carving
   Jack-O'-Lanterns from pumpkins
- Ghost stories & horror movies return each year at Halloween 

6. Halloween is also known as?

1. All Hallow's Eve
2. All Hail's Eve
3. All Havens Eve
4. All Holy Eve

7. Halloween started as the Celtic festival named?

1. Sanction Festival
2. Samhain Festival
3. Summer Festival
4. Saint Festival

8. What did the Romans do to the festival of Samhain?

1. They forbade the festival
2. They added their own festival to the same day
3. They made Samhain a Christian holiday
4. They started celebrating Halloween as well

9. Which immigrants first brought Halloween to the USA?

1. Scottish Immigrants
2. Danish Immigrants
3. Welsh Immigrants
4. Irish Immigrants

10. Which of the following is not commonly done on Halloween nowadays?

1. Pulling pranks
2. Carving Jack-O'-Lanterns from pumpkins
3. Lighting bonfires
4. Going trick-or-treating