Thursday, 22 October 2009
But, what is Halloween exactly?
Halloween (also spelled Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. This holiday has origins in the ancient Gaelic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sau-an), which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Gaels believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through.
Why do children say "trick or treat"?
Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Ireland and Scotland children still go guising. In this custom the child performs some sort of show, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, in order to earn their treats.
To finish, some recommended videos from YouTube:
Classic video from Disney with the Donald Duck – Trick or Treat:
Link to video1 in YouTube
This is Halloween, the song from the Nightmare before Christmas movie:
Link to video2 in YouTube
The previous song with subtitles in English:
Link to video3 in YouTube
Happy Halloween!
References:
Information on the Wikipedia
Image in the post
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