It’s Halloween! A hair-raising festival where the dead are remembered; people carve pumpkins into scary ‘jack-o’-lanterns, dress scary or into their favourite famous character, and go trick or treating! Â
To be short, Halloween Eve comes from Celtic rituals in Great-Britain and in the North of France. A long time ago, on October 31 – the night before All Saints’ Day – the spirits of the dead were supposed to roam about the villages. To prevent them from entering their homes or destroying their harvest, people dressed up as monsters and lit fires to frighten them. They also put food onto their doorsteps to soothe the spirits’ anger and keep them outside. Â
Thus, the origins of Halloween are not American but European although everybody agrees that American people, to be precise, Irish immigrants, were those who gradually turned this festival into the garish-ghoulish carnival.Â
Celebrate Halloween by carving your own pumpkin, decorating your room with creepy crawlies and reciting spooky stories with family and friends.