English for Young Learners

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Hallowe'en

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.

Hallowe'en is very popular in the USA. Children visit the houses of their neighbours. They wear strange costumes.

Children visit the houses of their neighbours. They wear strange costumes.

When the door opens they say, ‘trick or treat? The neighbour then gives them a 'treat' or something nice. This could be a sweet or an apple.


Jack--o'-lantern


The Jack--o'-lantern is a popular part of Halloween. This is a pumpkin with a face carved out (see picture above). Inside the pumpkin 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 used terrible magic. They lit fires to frighten them.

When the door opens they say 'trick or treat? The neighbour then gives them a 'treat' or something nice. This could be a sweet or an apple.


Exercise


You can read more about hallowe'en in simple English here.
Hallowe'en ghost story (scary!)

Joke: Q: What do you call a witch who lives at the beach? A: A sand-witch