The History of Halloween

          Long ago in Ireland we celebrated "Samhain". A great cultural festival that marked the boundary between our world and the spirit world. It was celebrated as the Celtic New Year's Eve that belonged to neither the past nor present.

          Samhain was considered the last harvest of the growing year. Fruit and nuts were gathered and the apple in particular was the symbol of the harvest. The apple and fruit picking is still very much a part of Halloween today. It is not uncommon for children to receive fruit and nuts when "trick or treating".

         At this time spirits walked amongst the living and this time is known as "All Hallows Eve". To guide loved ones who had died home, people put candles in their windows. To keep evil and unwelcome spirits away the candle was put in a pumpkin that had a demon face cut in to it. This is known as a "Jack O'Latern" and is still found in many Irish homes during Halloween.

          That's all for now. Thank you for listening and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Vocabulary:
Spirit - Ghost
Boundary - A border or a liimit
Amongst - Around
Symbol - Object that represents an idea