Halloween
Night
In October many shop
windows in Britain turn orange and black, with pumpkins, witches, broomsticks
and cats. What do young people do to celebrate Halloween? In the UK Halloween
traditions are very much alive and popular, especially amongst kids and
teenagers. We looked at some of the most common.
Pumpkin lanterns: These are pumpkins (an orange, football-sized vegetable)
with the inside removed and a nose, eyes and mouth cut into one side. A candle
is placed inside the empty pumpkin and the light creates a scary face effect.
In the past people used potatoes or turnips to make lanterns but nowadays
pumpkins are more popular. They are easier to cut and you can buy them in
supermarkets. People use pumpkin lanterns to decorate their homes at Halloween.
Do people actually eat their pumpkins? Yes, they do! Pumpkin soup and pumpkin
curry are very popular meals at this time of year.
Apple bobbing: To play this game, lots of apples are placed in a large
tub or bowl of water. The competitors have to take a bite from one of the
apples without using their hands. To make this more difficult, the competitors
have their eyes covered with a scarf. You are not allowed to use the sides of
the bowl to help you bite the apple. This game often involves getting very wet
so it's a good idea to bring a towel! Apple bobbing may be related to the
ancient Roman festival of remembering the dead, which was also in October. The
Romans remembered the goddess of trees and fruit, called Pomona. When they came
to the UK, about 2,000 years ago, they continued with this tradition.
Dressing up: People of all ages dress up on Halloween. The most popular
fancy dress costumes include witches, vampires, ghosts, skeletons, zombies or
monsters. You can buy a costume from a shop or you can make your own costume at
home. It’s easy to make a ghost costume from an old white sheet or wear black
clothes to look like a witch. You can even cover your face in bright red tomato
ketchup to look like a vampire! What would you choose? Rachel, 14, from
Liverpool says, 'If you go trick or treating it’s best to dress up as a witch.
You don’t need a bag for the sweets – you can just use your witch’s hat!'
Trick or treating:Children dress up and then visit the houses in their
neighbourhood asking for a ‘trick or treat’. The neighbour gives them sweets or
money as a ‘treat’. If there is no treat, the children play a trick on the neighbour,
for example they might throw soap at the window. Some people think that playing
tricks is unkind but luckily there is nearly always a treat! This custom is
imported from the USA and is more popular with young people than with adults.
The police in some parts of Britain give out 'No trick or treat, please!'
posters for people to display on their door on the night of Halloween. Young
children usually go trick or treating with parents or with an older brother or
sister.
Halloween parties:If you are in Sheffield, in the north of England, at
the end of October you can go to Fright Night. What is Fright Night? People in
Sheffield say it’s 'Britain's Biggest Halloween Party' and it attracts about
40,000 people each year. There are activities for kids, teenagers and adults
including a fancy dress catwalk, urban dance, a monster in the fountain and a
zombie garden, as well as the traditional apple bobbing and a competition for
the best pumpkin lantern. If you don't have a big Halloween party in your area,
some people have parties at home or at youth clubs where they dress up and play
scary games or tell ghost stories.
Watch a horror film: Not in the mood for a Halloween party? Older
teenagers that aren’t helping their younger sisters and brothers to trick or
treat sometimes watch a scary film with friends either at home or at the
cinema. Any film with the words 'Halloween', 'Vampire', 'Dead' or 'Zombie' in
the title is probably going to be quite scary. In the UK films are divided into
categories depending on whether they are for children, teens or adults. 'U'
films are suitable for all ages, '15' films are for people aged 15 or over, and
'18' films are for adults only. Many cinemas in the UK show old
black-and-white, classic horror films such as 'Psycho' on the night of October
31st. Interestingly, you needed to be over 18 to see 'Psycho' at the cinema in 1960. Now the film
has a ‘15’ rating.
See more at:
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/uk-now/read-uk/halloween#sthash.vaXMOnrF.dpuf