Halloween
is celebrated on October the 31st every year. It originated from a pagan
holiday and the christian holiday of All Saints’ Day. The name Halloween is a
shortened version of All Hallows’ Eve.
Today, it is more of a fun day for children and has largely lost its religious roots. Halloween is probably
most famous in the U.S.A. Irish immigrants took it to America in the mid-1600s and it slowly spread across the
country. Halloween is not celebrated in many countries around the world
although many people know about it. Some Christians are not so happy that
people celebrate Halloween. They believe the holiday is un-christian because of
its origin as a pagan "festival of the dead."
Halloween has many easily
identifiable symbols. The colours orange and black are widely used. In particular, orange pumpkins and fires
and black witches, cats and costumes are common features of this day.
One of the biggest Halloween activities is trick-or-treating. This is when
children knock on doors and ask for a small gift. If they don’t get
anything, they’ll play a trick on the person who opens the door.
Food also plays a big part of Halloween. Toffee apples are very popular and so is
anything made from pumpkin. Halloween is also a popular topic for Hollywood.
Many horror movies have been made about it. Because of this, Halloween is now
known in many countries that never actually celebrate it.
Do you celebrate Halloween? Are you going to a costume party?
What do you think about celebrating Halloween in Spain? Do you agree?
