HALLOWEEN BETWEEN TRADITION AND CONTEMPORANEITY TEACHER:Lorena Neagu

Halloween, the time of pumpkins, candies, ghosts, witches and much more, is annually celebrated on 31 October. Began over 2000 years ago in Irland,France and England,as a celebration for the Celts to mark the beginning of winter. The humans dressed in skins of animals to protect themselves from these other wordly creatures.

In Old English, Hallow means sanctify. Druids in Britain and Ireland would light bonfires, dance around them and offer sacrifices of animal and crops. The fires were also intended to give warmth to the households and to keep free from evil spirits. Through the ages these practices changed.

The Irish hollowed out turnips, placed a light inside to keep away the bad and stingy Jack. As the legend says, Jack was a man who tricked the devil and after Jack had died he was allowed neither in heaven nor in hell. With a lantern in his hand he began to search for a resting place on Earth. This was the original Jack-o-Lantern.

This was the original Jack-o-Lantern. Since Halloween came to America from Ireland (Scotland and Wales) people used pumpkins because they were bigger and easier to hollow out than turnips.

Two thousand years later, Halloween is a favorite holiday among American children. This should come as no surprise since it is a holiday that combines two things that children love: dressing up and eating candy!

On Halloween, you will hear "Trick-or-treat" everywhere. Children dress in costume and head down the streets as soon as it gets dark. Small-brained goblins and sharp-witted ghosts wonder around the streets and demand candy from the neighbors. Not everyone chooses a scary costume; you might see a silver-eyed princess, Superman, a movie star or a hippie.

Another ritual of Halloween is to buy a pumpkin, hollow it out, and carve a scary face on the front. With a candle in the center, these pumpkins are transformed into Jack O'Lanterns that are placed on front porches or in windows. Children know to look for these lights because they know that they will find a willing host to give them candy.

Some families decorate their houses for Halloween. They play scary music, hang spider webs, and suspend bony-white skeletons from their windows.

Pumpkin carving is truly an art. Some people will create entire families of pumpkins to greet the gypsies, witches, and vampires who come on Halloween night. The tradition began with the English and Scottish immigrants who came to America and brought their tradition of carving out beets, potatoes and turnips use as lanterns.

While some people today prefer to paint pumpkins, perhaps as a safety precaution with younger children, carved pumpkins yield many other benefits. For example, the fruit of the pumpkin can be used to make Pumpkin Pie, and the seeds can be dried and toasted as a snack.

Halloween is a holiday that is enjoyed by people of all ages.

Poor witch in a ditch! A green and ugly witch Fell into a deep-deep ditch. A man came to get her out When he heard her yell and shout. The ditch was so deep and wide The witch screamed and cried.

Trick or treat, trick or treat Trick or treat we say! Try to get the treats before The ghost takes us away!

I'm dreaming of the great pumpkin I'm dreaming of the great pumpkin Just like I do this time each year. When he brings nice toys To good girls and boys Who wait for him to appear.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!