Halloween – Хэллоуин
The Origin of Halloween
Halloween is celebrated on the 31 st of October. According to scientists it originated from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. People believed that on that day the dead could visit the living, as their spirits return to earth.
Traditions
Traditionally on Halloween Night people wear scary or funny costumes of witches, vampires, pirates, fairies and ghosts. The most popular children’s amusement on Halloween is «trick-or-treating».
They visit houses in their neighbourhood knocking on every door yelling the phrase: «Trick or treat!» Usually people give them sweets, fruit and candies, but if they don’t, the children can play a low-down trick on them.
Another famous All Saints’ Night tradition is making Jack O’Lantern: people carve a scary smiling face on a pumpkin and put a candle inside.
Traditional Halloween symbols are bats, black cats (and white ones in England), spiders, ghosts and images of Jack O’Lantern.
Halloween is celebrated all over the world
Halloween is celebrated in many countries all over the world. In some of them (China, Mexico, Austria) the dead are honored and welcomed: people leave food and gifts for the souls of their deceased loved ones and keep lights in their houses burning all night.
In other countries, like Germany, people are afraid of ghosts and spirits. They even hide knives and other sharp objects in order not to be hurt by these visitors on Halloween night.
Возникновение праздника
Хэллоуин празднуется 31 октября. По мнению ученых, он происходит от древнего кельтского праздника Самайн. Люди верили, что в этот день мертвые могут посещать живых, так как их души возвращаются на землю.
Традиции
Традиционно в ночь на Хэллоуин люди носят страшные или смешные костюмы ведьм, вампиров, пиратов, фей и привидений. Наиболее популярное развлечение у детей на Хэллоуин – выпрашивание сладостей (trick-or-treating).
Они посещают дома в округе, стуча в каждую дверь с криком: «Кошелек или жизнь!» Обычно люди дают им сладости, фрукты и конфеты, в противном случае дети могут сыграть с ними злую шутку.
Еще одно традиционное занятие на ночь всех святых – изготовление тыкв-светильников: люди вырезают страшное улыбающееся лицо на тыкве, внутрь которой затем ставят свечу.
Традиционные символы Хэллоуина – летучие мыши, черные кошки (и белые в Англии), пауки, призраки и изображения тыкв-светильников.
Празднование по всему миру
Хэллоуин празднуют во многих странах по всему миру. В таких странах, как Китай, Мексика и Австрия мертвых встречают с радостью и почтением: люди оставляют еду и подарки для душ своих умерших близких и не гасят свет всю ночь.
В других странах, например в Германии, люди боятся призраков и духов. Они даже прячут ножи и другие острые предметы на Хэллоуин, чтобы ночные гости не навредили им.
Halloween is a festival that is cel
Halloween is a festival that is celebrated on the 31st of October. This day is the eve of All Saints’ Day. The word “Halloween” is hundreds of years old. It comes from medieval England. But the origin of Halloween dates back hundreds of years to the Druid festival. They celebrated “All Hallows” Eve (in Old English “hallow” means “saint”). Long before this Celtic pagan tribes inhabited the territories of modern England. They thought that the year consisted of two parts – summer (bright part) and winter (dark part). The God of the Sun was taken prisoner during the winter. According to Celtic calendar the 1st of November was the day when the Druid New Year began. So they believed that just before this day witches and other evil spirits were playing tricks on human beings to mark the beginning of “dark” winter and the reign of the Lord of Death. Many ghosts and witches on the Earth and that they met on October 31 to worship the devil. People lit bonfires and made sacrifice.
These old traditions can still be found in countries of Celtic influence today. For example, in the United States children wear scary costumes of ghost and skeletons and masks (false faces) and go trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treating is the main Halloween activity for children. But what is trick-or-treating? Children go from door to door saying “trick or treat”. The neighbors give children treats like candies, fruit and money so that children do not play tricks on them.
Another Halloween tradition is making jack-o’-lanterns out of pumpkins. Jack-o’-lantern is a carved hollowed-out pumpkin with a face carved on one side. They also carve out rounded eyes in pumpkins and put a burning candle inside them so that they become visible from far away. There is an Irish legend which says that jack-o’-lanterns were named after the man called Jack. He was a miser and could not enter heaven, neither could he enter hell because he had played jokes on devil. As a result, Jack has to walk on the earth with his lantern until Judgment Day.
Storytelling about ghosts and witches and fortunetelling and are popular activities on this day. Today, people do not believe in ghosts and witches but they like to tell stories about them on Halloween. The custom of telling ghost stories on Halloween comes from the Druids. Fortunetelling is an important part of Halloween. Earlier a coin, a ring, and a thimble were baked into a cake. People believed that the person who found the coin would become wealthy. The one who found the ring would marry soon. And the person who found the thimble would never get married.
Топик на английском языке с переводом «Halloween is celebrated all over the world»
The Origin of Halloween
Halloween is celebrated on the 31 st of October. According to scientists it originated from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. People believed that on that day the dead could visit the living, as their spirits return to earth.
Traditionally on Halloween Night people wear scary or funny costumes of witches, vampires, pirates, fairies and ghosts. The most popular children’s amusement on Halloween is «trick-or-treating».
They visit houses in their neighbourhood knocking on every door yelling the phrase: «Trick or treat!» Usually people give them sweets, fruit and candies, but if they don’t, the children can play a low-down trick on them.
Another famous All Saints’ Night tradition is making Jack O’Lantern: people carve a scary smiling face on a pumpkin and put a candle inside.
Traditional Halloween symbols are bats, black cats (and white ones in England), spiders, ghosts and images of Jack O’Lantern.
Halloween is celebrated all over the world
Halloween is celebrated in many countries all over the world. In some of them (China, Mexico, Austria) the dead are honored and welcomed: people leave food and gifts for the souls of their deceased loved ones and keep lights in their houses burning all night.
In other countries, like Germany, people are afraid of ghosts and spirits. They even hide knives and other sharp objects in order not to be hurt by these visitors on Halloween night.
Хэллоуин празднуется 31 октября. По мнению ученых, он происходит от древнего кельтского праздника Самайн. Люди верили, что в этот день мертвые могут посещать живых, так как их души возвращаются на землю.
Традиционно в ночь на Хэллоуин люди носят страшные или смешные костюмы ведьм, вампиров, пиратов, фей и привидений. Наиболее популярное развлечение у детей на Хэллоуин – выпрашивание сладостей (trick-or-treating).
Они посещают дома в округе, стуча в каждую дверь с криком: «Кошелек или жизнь!» Обычно люди дают им сладости, фрукты и конфеты, в противном случае дети могут сыграть с ними злую шутку.
Еще одно традиционное занятие на ночь всех святых – изготовление тыкв-светильников: люди вырезают страшное улыбающееся лицо на тыкве, внутрь которой затем ставят свечу.
Традиционные символы Хэллоуина – летучие мыши, черные кошки (и белые в Англии), пауки, призраки и изображения тыкв-светильников.
Празднование по всему миру
Хэллоуин празднуют во многих странах по всему миру. В таких странах, как Китай, Мексика и Австрия мертвых встречают с радостью и почтением: люди оставляют еду и подарки для душ своих умерших близких и не гасят свет всю ночь.
В других странах, например в Германии, люди боятся призраков и духов. Они даже прячут ножи и другие острые предметы на Хэллоуин, чтобы ночные гости не навредили им.