Halloween
Hallowe'en is a special ghost festival. It happens on the night of 31 October. People wear special clothes at Hallowe'en. They tell ghost stories and play games.
Hallow'en is very popular in the USA. Children visit the houses of their neighbours. They wear strange costumes and say 'trick or treat? The neighbour then gives them a 'treat' or something nice. This could be a sweet or an apple.
The Jack--o'-lantern is a
popular part of Halloween. This is a pumpkin with a face
carved out (see picture above). Inside the pumkin there is
a candle. The candle is to frighten the witches away.
Another tradition is a special Halloween cake. This has a
silver coin inside. When the cake is cut, someone finds the
coin in one of the pieces. This person will become rich.
Today Halloween is a fun festival. But in the past it was
very frightening. People called it 'The night of the flying
witches.' They thought these witches could do terrible
magic. They lit fires to frighten them.
You can read more about
hallowe'en in simple English here.
